


Serendipitous

by Spastic_Freak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-22
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-16 19:21:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 42,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spastic_Freak/pseuds/Spastic_Freak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Battle of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron have been hired for a new mission as Aurors: find Snape's daughter, protect her and the artifact she possesses. The only information they are given are a few unsent letters and the name Kagome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PS: I don't own anything!
> 
> The first chapter will be told from McGonagall's POV but after that all the other chapters will be from Harry's POV.

**Chapter 1**

Minerva McGonagall paced around the Headmaster's office… her office, while the portraits of past headmasters watched on amusingly. Albus Dumbledore's portrait let out a small chuckle.

She quickly shot him a glare. "I don't know what you're laughing about. If anything goes wrong, it's not your fault."

"Don't forget Minerva," the twinkle in the old man's eye, even in portrait format, was still there. "You will have the help of two of the best wizards in the world and no doubt, one very bright witch."

Before she could get another word in, a knock came from the door. Minerva sighed, made herself presentable, and opened the door. The doorframe revealed two young men, ones she'd known since they were born. Two boys that have endured the hardest struggles and battles anyone could face. They were none other than Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Even though the two technically never graduated from Hogwarts due to its complete destruction during the Second Wizarding War, their names, along with many others now, were well known throughout the wizarding world, and they were quickly hired by the Ministry of Magic as Aurors.

"Professor," the two said in acknowledgment and stepped into the office. Harry glanced around the room that was now very different from the way Albus had kept it, all those years he was called into his office for both good and bad reasons. The look on his pained face broke the new headmaster's heart. She wished she had called them there under better circumstances.

"Please boys, I'm not your professor anymore, call me Minerva," she responded. They looked at each other uncomfortably before focusing their attention back on her. Old habits do die hard after all.

She looked at Ron. He was now 20 years old, and still the red-haired, freckled Weasley boy he'd always been. Last she'd heard his wife was pregnant. "How's Hermione doing?"

"Oh you know… She's being her usual bookworm self. She's aspiring to be the next Gilderoy Lockhart y'know, writing books about our adventures at Hogwarts." He looked over at Harry. "Pesters us every night for interviews on what we remember…"

Minerva smiled and looked over at Harry. "And you Mr. Potter, how is your fiancée doing?"

"Not so engaged actually," Harry said sadly. "She decided to break it off." He hesitated, not wanting to tell the reason she had broken up with him. "With all due respect Headmaster McGonagall, I'm more interested in this new mission you've hired us for."

"Right. I'll do my best to explain, but not even I know all the details." She went and sat behind her desk and motioned for the two men to sit down in the chairs in front of it. "I'm sure the two of you remember Professor Snape."

Harry glanced down at his feet. How could he forget the man who loved his mother so much, he dedicated his own life and safety just to protect him? "He was a great man. The best."

Minerva smiled at him. "Then I'm sure you won't mind doing him a favor." Both Ron and Harry looked at her intrigued, but ready to help anything if it was for the honor of Severus Snape. "Believe it or not, Snape had a daughter."

"Bloody Hell," Ron stared at her with disbelief. "Someone mated with him?" Harry nudged him in the ribs. "What? Just because he was an honorable man, doesn't mean I could see someone sleeping with him…" Ron held his ribcage in pain.

"How come we've never heard of her, Professor? Did she attend Hogwarts with us? What house and year was she in? Or is she here now?" Harry asked, trying to get to the bottom of business.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy…" Minerva glanced up at Dumbledore's portrait, where he was happily pretending to be asleep. "She lives in Japan and has no knowledge of the wizarding world and magic. She is in her last year of muggle school though, 17 years old."

"There is no way Snape could have a daughter, let alone a muggle daughter," Ron said matter of factly.

"As rude as Ron is being, I must agree with him," Harry said while shooting Ron an annoyed look. "Snape was too powerful and too Slytherin to not have produced a magic wielding child."

"Well, I wouldn't say she isn't magical," Minerva said. "Snape did not want her to know about the magic world, with Voldemort being around at the time. However, she had a more important mission she had to accomplish at the time." Minerva sighed. Here is where it was going to get interesting. "The thing is, she has an object that she was born to protect, it is probably the most powerful object in the world, even more powerful than the elder wand was."

Now Harry stared at her in disbelief. "What could possibly be more powerful than the elder wand? Let alone be protected by a girl that doesn't know about magic?"

"I wouldn't say she doesn't know anything about magic. She knows she is different. But I can't really explain that to you. I'm not certain about those details. But this object is very important and even has the potential to bring Voldemort back to life." Minerva stated gravely.

"That's not possible!" Ron shouted angrily, at the edge of his seat. "Harry destroyed all of the horcruxes. He even had to die to get the last one. Every last bit of Voldemort's soul has been destroyed."

"You don't understand the power of this object, Mr. Weasley. Very few people know of its existence. Even I just found out about it. But there is always a chance that a Death Eater might seek it out to restore his master."

"So then, what is our official mission?" Harry asked.

"You're mission is to protect Snape's daughter and the object she protects. If you fail, we might be facing Voldemort all over again, or even worse, a more powerful threat." She looked at the two grown men. Never did she think that she'd be handing out missions to two of her old students.

"How hard could it be?" Ron sat back relaxed. "Free trip to Japan, protect a muggle. And hey," he nudged Harry, "You always did like Asian girls didn't you?"

Harry chuckled at his best friend's joke. Even Headmaster McGonagall couldn't help but smile. "I suppose it won't be too bad," Harry responded. "Do we at least get a name, Professor?"

"A first name is all I have along with a few unsent letters. I don't know anything else about her," The two boys leaned forward again. "Her name is Kagome, and if you can't protect her, the world as we know it could be over."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ron Weasley and Harry Potter walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, headed toward Harry's house. He, with the help of Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, renovated the Shrieking Shack and turned it into a magical home. Of course Harry kept his home connected to Ron and Hermnione's with the Floo Network.

"I think we should take Hermione with us to Japan. She might be able to dig up some information on this magical artifact," Harry said.

"Have you gone mental? She's pregnant with my child mate!" Ron said angrily. He had been really protective of his wife once they learned she was pregnant.

"We'll keep her safe. I do all the field work remember?" Harry smiled. "Besides I'm sure she wouldn't mind reading more. Maybe this will be her next big novel!"

"There's no stopping it really," Ron said as though he had lost the argument already. "I don't think we could convince her to stay."

They reached the shack and quickly went inside towards the fireplace. Harry tried to usher Ron towards the flames as fast as possible. "Make sure you pack quickly. Our plane leaves in a few hours."

"I don't see why we have to take muggle transportation," Ron reached for the Floo powder sitting in a silver decorative bowl on the mantle. "Can't we just apparate?"

Harry grinned. "We've never been to Japan before Ron, how can we apparate somewhere that we can't picture clearly in our minds. Besides, we both hate apparating after doing it so much our seventh year."

"I guess you're right," Ron threw the powder in the flames, cleared his throat and said loudly, "Home."

After Ron stepped through the green flames, Harry was left alone in his house. He still wasn't used to being alone in what used to be the Shrieking Shack. After all, this was going to be the home of Harry and Ginny Potter, not just Harry Potter.

He sighed and walked into his bedroom. Half of it was empty. Harry hadn't had the patience to redecorate after his ex-fiancée left him a few weeks ago. The real reason: Baby Envy.

Once Hermione learned of her pregnancy, Ginny was ecstatic for her brother and sister-in law as well as envious. She pestered Harry every day, wanting to stay home and get cozy with one another. Which would be fine, if he hadn't known that she was trying to get pregnant herself.

But Harry didn't want to have children. Not right now at least. He wanted to bring children into a world that was as safe as possible. No more bad guys. That was the whole reason he became an Auror. Harry knew that he couldn't prevent crime all together, but many of the death eaters were still out there, more than ready to seek revenge on the guy that killed their leader.

Ginny called him crazy. Telling him that he was too hung up on fighting villains. She provided him with an ultimatum: Having a family or being an Auror.

Harry stood firm in his decision. He wasn't going to bring children into the world, unless the death eaters were locked up or dead. There was no way he was going to allow them to use his family as leverage against him.

Her response still resonated in his mind: "Well you won't have to worry about that, because you won't have a family." She took her ring off, threw it at him, and apparated to her parents' house.

He hadn't heard from her since then. Not that he blamed her. She came from a huge family. Of course she was going to want one of her own. But Harry didn't want to risk anything. What if his child had to endure the same life he had to because he was unable to bring down Voldemort's death eaters?

He ruffled his hair in frustration. There was no real sense in thinking of it anymore. Ginny was gone. He didn't see her coming back any time soon. The best thing to do is to continue on with his Auror missions, and hope that she'll come back to him.

Besides, being an Auror… hunting dark witches and wizards… was the only thing Harry Potter knew. And if this mission McGonagall was sending them on was true, then Harry was right. The world was in danger again.

Harry waved his wand and his suitcase came to the bed. Clothes, accessories and various items from around the room floated over and went into what looked like a normal looking suitcase. But of course it was an enchanted one thanks to Hermione. Similar to the bag she carried when the three of them were out looking for the horcruxes. If he wanted to, he could probably fit everything in the house in this one suitcase. Makes traveling like a muggle pretty simple.

Harry sat down on the bed when a wave of exhaustion over took him. Then he laid back, his legs still dangling off the side. Ever since Ginny left, he hadn't been able to sleep very well. He closed his eyes for a moment. He needed just a moment… to relax. And perhaps just exist in the world without having to think at all.

"Harry!" His body was being shaken violently. The worried faces of Ron and Hermione looked down on him. Hermione hovered the closest: the culprit of waking him so annoyingly. "What are you doing in bed? Our plane leaves in less than an hour!"

Harry groggily sat up. He had fallen asleep? How long was he out cold for? He felt like he could have slept for another three days straight. He looked at his friends. Concern still covered their faces. They had been checking on him regularly since Ginny left him. He needed to figure out if there was a way to put a lock on the fireplace…

"Hullo Hermione," Harry said while yawning. "Are you getting fat?"

Hermione Granger blushed and smiled so big you'd think she'd won the lottery. "Ha. Ha. Please tell me more fat jokes. They're really hilarious."

"I see your sarcasm is still good." Harry glanced at his watch. It was 7:15 in the evening. The plane takes off at 8. The plan was to travel all night and make it to Japan in the morning. "I'm glad you decided to come with us."

"And miss this opportunity?" Hermione beamed. "It'll be a wonderful chance to learn and experience Japanese culture. It will also give me plenty of time to work on my book. Honestly, I can't believe you told Ron I shouldn't go!"

Harry looked at Ron and rolled his eyes. "So how do you propose we make it to the airport so quickly?"

"I suggest taking the Knight Bus!" Ron said happily. "It's fast, easy and I'm sure Stan would love to see Neville here again." Ron gestured toward Harry causing them all to recall their third year, and burst out laughing.

"Alright then boys!" Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him off the bed. The three of them grabbed their suitcases and walked outside to the nearest street. Harry pulled out his wand and signaled for the Knight Bus.

Hermione was the first to walk towards the open doors with her suitcase. She turned around and looked at her best friends, excitement in her eyes. "Are you boys ready for another adventure?"


	3. Chapter 3

Harry couldn't help but crack a smile as his best friend gripped the arms of the chairs in first class. Ron already didn't want to fly in the airplane in the first place, but this turbulence was making him hate it even more.

"How hard is it to fly a bloody airplane?" Ron managed to seethe out through gritted teeth.

"Apparently just as hard as two boys flying a car to Hogwarts," Harry joked.

Ron's eyes widened. "Does this mean we're going to have to crash into a tree in order to land?"

"Don't be ridiculous Ronald," Hermione interjected, the turbulence having no affect on her whatsoever. "That would be a waste of airplanes and materials to have to crash land every time."

But Ron didn't seem convinced as he gripped the armrests even tighter. Just because Harry and Hermione grew up with muggle transportation that didn't mean he had.

"Anyway," Hermione started as she rummaged around in her purse. After a few moments of digging, she pulled out three necklaces. Each necklace consisted of a silver chain and a small black stone that appeared to have some sort of purple mist swirling inside it.

"Whoa," both Harry and Ron looked at the stones in wonder.

"What is it?" Ron finally asked.

"This, my dear husband, is probably going to be the most useful item on our journey," she said as she put one around her neck. She handed each of the boys one and indicated for them to put it on. "It's sort of like a constant translation spell. The wearer of this necklace will instantly be able to understand whatever language is being spoken to them, as well as be able to respond in that same language."

"That's brilliant Hermione!" Harry exclaimed as he put the necklace on. He hadn't once thought about how they were going to communicate with everyone once they got to Japan.

"And you didn't want her to come along," Ron joked as he put his necklace on as well.

Harry rolled his eyes and then stared out the window. This flight had given Harry literally hours to think about this new mission. He tried to think back on all of his years at Howarts. He couldn't recall a single time of anyone mentioning that Snape had a daughter.

But why hide it? And why not bring her to Hogwarts so she could learn magic and better defend herself? Hopefully the letters McGonagall had given them would provide them with more insight.

Harry was brought out of thought by the captains voice over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll please put on your safety belts, for we will be preparing to land in about five minutes."

Ron gripped his chair and held on for dear life.


	4. Chapter 4

The safe house that McGonagall had secured for the three of them was absolutely amazing. It was completely stocked with any type of food one could think of (which would definitely come in handy with pregnant Hermione) and every room was furnished with the finest things. There were even two master bedrooms.

"This place is simply wonderful," Hermione exclaimed as she walked around the sitting room. "I love how everything is in walking distance from the house. There was even a shrine down the street. I wonder if they do tours."

"Touring a shrine… Sounds like fun…" Ron said as he sat down on the couch. "I'm more interested in where we should start here. I mean, how do we even find this girl?"

"Well we know she attends a high school around here. It's really the only thing we know. We could start there?" Hermione suggested.

"How are we going to do that?" Harry asked. "We can't just walk into the school and start asking questions. We'd look suspicious."

"No but we do have to infiltrate it," Hermione grinned from ear to ear. "It's a good thing you're still a teenager for a few more months. I'll think you'll fit right in."

Harry's jaw dropped. She couldn't be serious could she? Were they seriously expecting him to go to a muggle high school? Harry couldn't even remember the last time he did a math problem or took a physical education class. He was what… nine? Ten?

"Oh I'm serious Mr. Potter," Hermione rummaged around her bag and pulled out a file. "You've already been registered. You start classes tomorrow."

"Why can't Ron go to school? Or what about you Hermione, with that brilliant mind of yours?" Harry looked at her, his eyes pleading with her.

"Nonsense Harry. I may be brilliant but I'm still pregnant." Hermione placed the file on the table. "Besides, you're the one that brags about doing all the field work. You know Ron and I do all the behind the scenes stuff, and get you anything you need."

Harry grumbled and picked up the file. "I'm going to my room then. To study."

"Your uniform should be in your closet. You might want to try it on." Hermione said. "I think I'm going to look around the area some more."

"I'm going with you!" Ron exclaimed. No doubt he didn't want anyone attacking her.

Harry sat down on the bed and ruffled his hair in frustration. He was seriously going to be attending a high school? No magic, no crazy creatures… Just normal high school muggles.

Sighing, he opened the file. It contained all the information he needed from school. Everything from his class schedule to the lunch menu was included. How did Hermione find the time to get this information? When did she do it? Harry thought he was with her most of the time from when they were assigned the mission, to arriving at the safe house.

He looked up at the open closet and saw a few black uniforms with gold buttons hanging on the bar inside. Harry thought he was done with uniforms once he left Hogwarts. Here he was going on twenty years old, and forced to wear yet another one. At least he was getting paid to wear it…

And if it all led up to helping Snape's daughter in the end…

Harry rummaged in his inside coat pocket and withdrew the envelope with his name on it containing the letters that Snape never sent his daughter. There were so many letters inside. He couldn't believe Snape had never delivered a single one. Hopefully, one of them would provide a little more information on why he didn't send one, and maybe what kind of girl his daughter is.

Thumbing through them, they were kept in chronological order. Most of them were very short and ended abruptly. He probably started them and then quickly gave up on them, knowing they wouldn't be delivered. The last one, written not too long before his death, was the longest. He read:

_My Dearest Kagome,_

_I can't believe you are already 16 years old. It kills me that I haven't been there for you your entire life. But I have done nothing but think of you every single day, wishing I could be a part of your life, and introducing you to the wonderful world of magic._

_Right now though, the wizarding world isn't doing well. In fact, it hasn't been doing well since before you were born, which is why I never wanted you to be a part of it. If Voldemort ever learned of your existence, I don't know what terrible things he would do to you._

_There is a war going on right now. One that I hope you are never involved with. But based on your prophecy, it seems you've had your own war to fight. If something were to happen to me, and Voldemort learns of your existence, please trust in the boy named Harry Potter. I have devoted my whole life to his safety and success against the dark wizard. If there is anyone who can help you, it is him._

_One day I hope you can learn all the good things I did, rather than all the bad ones. Or that one day you can be proud to say I was your father. I died trying to protect this world. I only pray that it works._

The letter wasn't signed.

Harry was on the verge of tears. Snape had known he was going to die. He even knew that Harry would be successful in his fight against Voldemort. Harry hated the fact that he'd despised the man all throughout his years at Hogwarts. If only he'd known the truth…

There was no time for what ifs. Harry had a mission to do. Snape had died protecting him, and Harry was going to return the favor. If he had to, he'd die protecting Snape's daughter. Harry looked out the window at all the people passing by on the sidewalk.

But first, he was going to have to find her.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry fidgeted with the buttons on his uniform. He knew there were only ten or so of them, but it felt like a hundred. They were so tiny he couldn't push them through the holes. Groaning he slumped down on the couch defeated.

"Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding World, annihilator of dark wizards, was defeated by buttons?" Hermione laughed at her own joke, while Harry glared at her. "Alright, come here."

Harry stood up and she proceeded to button up his school jacket for him. He couldn't help but wonder if his own mom would have done the same thing for him growing up. Button his jackets, tie his shoes, and make him look presentable for school. Living at the Dursley's had forced him to grow up pretty quick, because they certainly weren't going to help him.

Harry smiled down at Hermione. "You're going to be a great mom."

She smiled and blushed at his comment. "I certainly hope so." She attempted now to flatten his hair down. But to no avail, it retained its messy status. "I know this kid will have one hell of godfather."

"Thanks 'mione." She honestly had no idea how happy hearing that made him. He didn't have the greatest childhood, but he was going to make sure his godchild certainly did.

"Do you have your wand?" Hermione asked seriously.

Harry patted his chest. "It's in this inside pocket here. Hopefully I can get these buttons open to get it out…"

"I'm sure you'll conquer them in no time," Hermione said with smile. "Now be careful. Do you have your ear piece so that you can contact us whenever you need to?"

"Of course," Harry said as he took his glasses off. He was opting to wear contacts that were charmed with the wonderful ability to translate any written Japanese for him. He wasn't taking any risk of having someone recognize him, even if this was a muggle school in Japan. Luckily his hair decided to cover his lightning bolt-shaped scar.

"Only use it for emergencies and make sure you're careful," Hermione said and hugged her best friend. "We don't know anything about the item this girl has. I'll do some research while you get settled into school."

Harry nodded and grabbed his book bag. It was already full of the textbooks he would need for class. He then took a deep breath and stepped outside onto the sidewalk. It was his first day of high school and he was nervous. After being around magic for so long he found it hard to act like a muggle.

On his way there he passed by the large shrine Hermione talked about the day before. He looked at the sign that read "Sunset Shrine". Harry frowned at the abnormal amount of stairs leading to the entrance. Hogwarts had a lot of staircases, but these cement stairs looked like they could lead all the way into the sky. Harry couldn't imagine walking up and down them everyday.

Continuing on his journey to the high school, he started noticing more guys with the same uniform he wore, walking in the same direction. He also noticed many girls wearing green and white sailor uniforms. Their skirts were extremely short.

Harry grinned. Maybe high school wouldn't be so bad after all. If Hogwarts girl's uniforms had been that short, there is no way he would have paid attention in class.

"You look happy," a male voice said interrupting his thoughts. Harry looked to his right to see another guy wearing the same uniform as his. "I don't recognize you," he continued. "Are you new?"

"Err yeah," Harry answered. "Today is my first day."

"That's quite the accent you have," the boy said. "Are you from England?"

"My parent's were relocated here thanks to their work," Harry rolled off his transfer story with ease. "It's my senior year."

"That's great," he said as they approached the entrance to the school. They both stopped and the guy stuck out his hand in a friendly manner. "I'm Hojo by the way. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

"I appreciate it," Harry said and shook his hand. "My name is Harry Potter."

Harry instinctively grimaced, waiting on some sort of reaction from the boy after hearing his name. But instead Hojo just smiled and said, "Welcome to Furinkan High School, Harry," and walked inside the building.

Harry just stood back and watched as everyone rushed into the building. A loud bell rang across the campus indicating the start of class. Great, first day and the boy-who-lived was late.

Finding the front office was easy enough, and the secretary was nice enough to show him to his classroom 3A. He was greeted at the door by the teacher, who then eagerly ushered him into the classroom. "Class! Please settle down! Our new transfer student has arrived. He's from England!" The class ooohed and ahhhhed at the teacher's comment. "Well, go on and introduce yourself."

"Yes Professor," Harry said softly. But the whole class heard his answer and laughed.

"Did you hear that accent?" One girl in the front asked.

"He called sensei professor!" Another girl said with a squeal.

Harry blushed in embarrassment. He was glad his earpiece wasn't on. Ron and Hermione would be rolling around laughing so hard at this. "Sorry Sensei…" Harry corrected himself and continued to stand at the front of the classroom, red with embarrassment.

"That's alright, Potter-san," the teacher smile sympathetically. "I know you're getting used to our culture still. But your Japanese is quite good. Almost flawless. Why don't you go take the empty seat next to Higurashi-san. Higurashi-san, please raise your hand."

A girl in the back of the room, staring out the window, raised her hand. She didn't even bother looking at the front of the classroom at him. At least that's one person that probably wouldn't remember his embarrassing act on the first day of school.

He walked to the back of the room and sat in the chair next to the girl identified as Higurashi. But even as he sat down, she didn't take any real notice of him. She simply stared out the window.

And that's what she did the entire day, clear until lunchtime. Once lunch rolled around, everyone in the classroom started to rearrange desks and group together with their friends. Harry's stomach grumbled as the other students pulled out little boxes and containers filled with various foods. Harry sighed. How could he forget to prepare his own lunch?

"Potter-san," Hojo pulled up a desk next to his. "Aren't you going to eat your lunch?" He pointed at Harry's book bag, which contained a small, square, black container.

Harry immediately took it out of his bag. A note was taped to the top. He opened it and read:

_I figured you'd forget to pack your own lunch, so I made you a bento. Good luck on your first day. Stay on your toes. –Hermione_

"Is that from your mom?" Hojo asked, his mouth full of food.

"More like my sister," Harry responded while smiling. He opened his bento and started eating. But he wanted to keep the focus off of himself. "So tell me about the school. Anything I should know or keep an eye out for?"

"Hm…" Hojo thought a moment as he chewed his food. Harry noticed his eyes keep glancing at the now empty seat of Higurashi-san. "Nothing really. This school is really no different than any other."

"Oh?" Harry noticed that Hojo was now scanning the room as though looking for someone. No doubt that Higurashi girl. "No particular person of interest then?"

Hojo looked back at Harry and smiled sheepishly. "You got me. I suppose I make my intentions pretty obvious."

"It's no big deal. I think it's great you have someone you like," Harry put his fork down, no longer wishing to eat. Whenever the topic of love comes up, his thoughts become consumed with Ginny and their lack of relationship.

"I don't really like her as much as I used to," Hojo started. "I've been trying to show her my affections since our first year in high school. This is actually her first year back at school."

This seemed pretty interesting to Harry. "Why hasn't she been here?"

"Oh she's been really sick," Hojo said very seriously. "Her family has a history of medical conditions, so she missed a lot of class. She usually only showed up for major tests and examinations. But this year she hasn't missed a single day."

Harry slumped back in disinterest. A girl with a history of illness and not showing up to school? Definitely not the guardian of a powerful item capable of bringing back Voldemort.

One girl down…only the rest of the school to go.


	6. Chapter 6

All schools should be like Furinkan High School. First, the girl's uniforms had skirts that were super short, and the gym uniforms were just as tantalizing. Each of them wore what looked like red bathing suit bottoms, with tightly fitting white t-shirts.

Harry didn't understand how the high school guys could even look away from them. If he had turned out to be a muggle, it wouldn't have been so bad to grow up in Japan assuming all the girls wore these uniforms.

He couldn't say the same for the boy's uniforms. Harry tugged on the sleeves of his long sleeve gym shirt. Long sleeve shits… Baggy sweat pants… He looked up at the sun as it blazed down on the class. Looking around, Harry was the only one that seemed to feel uncomfortable. How was no one else hot?

The loud sound of the whistle interrupted his thoughts. "Alright! You know the drill, everyone do laps!"

Great. Harry felt like he always had to run, whether literally or figuratively. At least he had great stamina thanks to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He felt no need to run at the front of the pack, he decided to stay in the middle.

But only after a few laps, many of the students were loosing energy and out of breath. Harry felt fine. As long as he wasn't running for his life, then there was no need to really break a sweat.

Surprisingly enough, the only other person who seemed un-phased by the running was Higurashi-san. She was even ahead of him. Her ponytail swayed back and forth as she jogged along the track. For someone who used to be sick a lot, she sure seemed pretty healthy to him…

The whistle sounded again, signaling for them to stop. The coach stepped forward again, "Girls off to the tennis courts and boys to the soccer field!"

Great. More running.

Luckily, gym was Harry's last class and he couldn't have been happier to go home and be able to use magic again. He was tired of acting like a muggle. After changing back into his uniform, he was ready to go home. He took off his jacket though, deciding it was better to carry it home rather than die of overheating.

Harry practically ran home, ignoring the shouts and cries of after school clubs trying to recruit him. Only thoughts of the safe house resonated in his mind.

The best part about starting school today was that he started on a Friday, which means he had the next two days to relax and figure out a strategy to find Snape's daughter.

Ron was at the door waiting for him. "Finally, you're back! So did you find her?"

"Yes Ron, I walked right in, confronted her and called it a day," Harry replied sarcastically.

"Well I didn't know how hard it would be," Ron said. "You're the field agent…"

"You'd be jealous too," Harry said with a grin. "You should see the girls' school uniform. They wear the shortest skirts I've ever seen. And don't get me started on their gym uniform."

Ron leaned into Harry and whispered, "We can whip up a batch of polyjuice potion and switch for the day if you'd like…"

Suddenly both of them felt a large smack on the back of their heads. When they turned around they came face to face with a glaring Hermione. "Ron you wouldn't know how to brew a polyjuice potion even with the instructions in front of you. And you, Harry," she sent an intense glare his way as well. "You're not there to ogle at girls and their shorts skirts!"

"It's just an added bonus, that's all," he grinned back at her, which earned him another smack upside the head.

"Now listen here, there will be no goofing off until we find this girl. I've made a schedule…" Hermione rummaged in small messenger bag that hung on her side.

Both boys instantly groaned.

"Oh hush," Hermione said. "It wouldn't kill you to get some dueling practice in, now get in the backyard."

Grumbling the two stood up and made their way to the backyard. Ron went to the left side of the yard and pulled out his wand. "I won't hold back just because you're a high school student y'know."

Harry walked to the right side of the yard and put on his jacket. "I hope Hermione's ready with healing spell and potions for when she has to nurse your wounds," Harry said as he reached to his inside coat pocket. He was overcome with panic to find it empty. He quickly checked his pants pockets, but found those empty as well.

Fear over took Harry as he ran inside the house, grabbed his school bag and poured its contents all over the floor. Scattering his books and papers around the floor, he found no wand.

Ron and Hermione came running in after him. They both watched as Harry destroyed his book bag. "What in blazes are you doing?" Ron asked.

But Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "Harry Potter, tell me you did not lose your wand on the first day of school."

Nothing got past her. Harry stood up and sat down on the couch defeated. His friends sat on either side of him. "I don't know what could have happened to it. The only time I didn't have it on me was in gym."

"I'm sure it will turn up mate," Ron said, obviously trying to cheer him up.

"You have to be more careful, Harry," Hermione reprimanded him. "How do you know a Death Eater doesn't have it?"

"Probably would have found us anyway if we started dueling in the back yard," Ron said.

Hermione groaned. "Do you think I'm that stupid?" Ron and Harry looked at her confused. "I set up a barrier around the house and yard. To the outside world all magic is not seen or detected. No one but us can come in or out of this place unless we say otherwise."

"What happens when someone tries? For example, what if some door to door sales man tries to come up here?" Harry asked.

Hermione grinned. "They simply forget what they were approaching the house for, and walk away. That way no one can disturb us while we are working."

"That's brilliant," Ron exclaimed. "Now we don't have to worry about muggles accidently seeing anything they're not supposed to."

Suddenly the doorbell rang. The Golden Trio's eyes all shot towards the front door, and then towards Hermione. She looked confused. "I set up our defenses perfectly… I don't understand…" she muttered as she walked towards the door and opened it.

Harry and Ron tried to look and see who had managed to break past Hermione's barrier and ring the doorbell, but Hermione blocked their path. They heard a female voice that said, "Is Potter-san here?"

Harry didn't recognize the voice. But when Hermione turned around to look at Harry, she revealed the young Japanese girl that stood on their doorstep. It was Miss Higurashi.

Ron's jaw dropped. "You weren't kidding about those uniforms mate."

Hermione backed away from the door as Harry approached it. Both her and Ron were, without a doubt, going to listen in on the conversation, confused as to how she broke through Hermione's barrier.

"Sorry to interrupt, but when you left the classroom, you dropped this," she said holding out his wand and the envelope with his name on it that contained the letters from Snape.

Relief washed over Harry as he took his wand and the envelope back. "Thank you so much. I was just looking for it…"

"I tried to return it as you left the classroom, but you seemed in a hurry. I also think my voice was drowned out by all the club managers attempting to recruit you," she said with a big smile.

This was the first time he really got to look at Miss Higurashi, and he instantly understood why that Hojo boy liked her so much. She didn't seem that happy at school, but the smile she wore now really suited her. She also had big blue eyes, not common for most Japanese girls.

"I really appreciate this," he managed to finally say. "Especially going out of your way to bring these back to me."

"Oh it's no problem!" She exclaimed. "I live down the street, so it wasn't out of the way!"

Before Harry could say anything else she bowed and said, "Sorry for intruding." When she stood up her eyes locked with his and she smiled again, "Welcome to the neighborhood." With that said she turned around and walked back down the sidewalk.

Harry closed the door and turned around to face Ron and Hermione. "You're lucky someone nice found your wand AND those letters. I didn't even know the letters were missing," Hermione said glaring at him.

Ron however was grinning ear to ear. "If all the girls at school are that hot, sign me up for class on Monday."

Harry left the room with the sound of Hermione's hand smacking the back of Ron's head yet again.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry Potter was sleeping well.

That is until Hermione came in and ripped the covers off of him. Harry quickly grabbed the glasses that were laying on his nightstand and put them on. "Bloody Hell Hermione. How do you know I wasn't sleeping naked or something?"

She rolled her eyes. "For goodness' sake Harry, I'm pregnant. Don't act like I don't know what guys look like."

"Just Ron," Harry mumbled under his breath. "And that's not much…"

"I can hear you, y'know," Ron's voice sounded from the doorway. He held a plate of pancakes in one hand and a fork in the other. He immediately went back to eating after putting his two cents in.

"It's Saturday," Harry whined while taking his covers back from Hermione. "Can't I sleep in a bit more? Some of us were at school all day yesterday…"

Hermione crossed her arms in frustration. "Sure, tell that to Snape's daughter after she has been captured by Death Eaters. Or worse, killed!"

Harry's stomach dropped. Hermione was an expert at guilt trips. Grumbling he stammered out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the day. They better have come up with a good game plan for the day if they were getting him out of bed.

After putting in his contacts and putting some clean clothes on, he met his two best friends in the living room. They were already by the door and ready to go. Hermione was the only one looking excited. Ron leaned against the doorframe half asleep.

"So what's the plan then, Hermione?" He ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it to be even messier than it normally is.

"We are going to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding area," she said with a big smile on her face.

Harry frowned. "So we're going site seeing?"

"I think we should know the area we're settled in, Mr. Potter," Hermione rummaged through her bag and pulled out a few brochures. "I found a few interesting places we can go… one is very close by!"

Harry sighed. Hopefully this day would go by quickly. "All right, let's go." It was easier to go along with Hermione's plan rather than oppose her. She was already emotional with the pregnancy, so there was no way he was going to be responsible for making her even more upset.

Hermione practically dragged Ron down the sidewalk. Luckily they didn't travel too far, when they stopped in front of the mountain of stairs Harry had seen yesterday. Ron stood and stared at the stairs in disbelief. "You expect us to climb this monster?

Just then, a middle school boy squeezed between Harry and Ron, running straight up the stairs. "Sorry!" He called back at them but continued running up the stairs without even slowing down.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Well he's obviously got more energy than us, being so young…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Move it, Ronald."

Harry chuckled as he followed behind the married couple while they ascended the concrete stairwell. It wasn't long until Harry was in front of them, and Hermione was attempting to pull Ron up the stairs. "Seriously, Ronald? Harry and I are climbing the stairs just fine!"

"Shut… up…" Ron responded in between pants of breath. "Death Eaters must be behind this, because these stairs are evil."

A female laughter from the top of the stairs interrupted Ron's complaining. All eyes turned toward sound to see Miss Higurashi standing there. However, she was dressed in a strange outfit. Her pants were very baggy, red, and tied at the waist. Her shirt was similar to a blouse; it was white and also really baggy on her. A white ribbon pulled her hair back and out of her face.

"I see it is  _you_  coming to  _my_  house this time," she said with a smile.

The three quickly finished climbing the stairs and stood at the top with her. "You live at a shrine?" Harry asked her, intrigued.

"Mhm," she glanced around her own property as if it were paradise. "This is Higurashi Shrine. I didn't think I would see you lot so soon."

"We decided to do some site seeing!" Hermione quickly interjected herself into the conversation. "We wanted to take in as much Japanese culture as possible. I'm Hermione Weasley, by the way, and this is my husband Ron. And I'm sure you know Harry from school."

"Well it is a pleasure to officially meet you! I'm…" But a little girl tugging on the sleeve of her blouse interrupted Miss Higurashi. She was dragging what looked like a bow used for archery in her other hand.

"Teacher…" she said softly, looking up at her with big eyes brimming with tears. "I need help."

She smiled lovingly in return and lowered herself down to the little girl's level. "Don't cry, Keiko-chan. I'll come help you." She then turned towards them. "I can give you a tour once my class finishes up."

She turned around and led them all towards the back of the house into a large open field. Harry was surprised to see quite a few people back there, also carrying bows as well as arrows. Most of them were children, but there were a few teenagers and even adults there as well. They were all practicing archery and aiming at targets on the other side of the field.

They all watched as Harry's classmate helped the little girl mount her bow and shoot an arrow at the target in front of her. She then went down the line of archers and helped anyone else that needed it.

"This shrine must be really serious," Hermione leaned in and whispered to Harry. "That girl is dressed as a traditional Japanese shrine priestess. It said in their pamphlet that they offer archery lessons on Saturday mornings."

Harry listened in on what Hermione was saying to him, but his eyes remained locked on Miss Higurashi. She suddenly turned and made eye contact with him, as though she could sense that he was watching her.

"All right everyone, that's it for today! I'll see you all next weekend," she said as the students picked up their belongings and walked towards the stairs.

She then walked over to the trio. "Ready for that tour?"

Miss Higurashi showed them all over the shrine grounds, and there was a lot of it. Their house sits on the edge of a large forest, but Harry got a bad feeling about it. It gave him chills looking at it, almost as if he were looking into the ominous Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts.

She seemed to really love her job. Talking about Feudal Japan, demons, and the history of the shrine. Her grandfather came out of nowhere at one point trying to exorcise the three of them as demons.

As they rounded the house to return to the shrine stairs, two men stood waiting at the entrance. Both men had business suits and long hair tied back into ponytails. The one with black hair watched emotionlessly as they approached, while the other who had auburn hair and green eyes watched Higurashi-san excitedly.

The host smiled at her new guests. "It seems my next group has arrived. I hope you enjoyed the tour," she said. "I'll see you at school on Monday Potter-san."

As they walked past the two businessmen, the dark haired one seemed to be watching Harry. Hermione glanced back over her shoulder at the visitors as they descended the stairs.

"What's wrong," Harry asked. Something about those two men bothered her, just as much as it was bothering Harry.

"I recognize them, or at least, one of them," Hermione furrowed her brow in frustration. "I just can't remember…"

Ron sighed. "Guess that means she'll be doing research all night…"


	8. Chapter 8

Monday came about too quickly in Harry's opinion. He wasn't a fan of having to go to school for this mission. Obviously Hogwarts didn't keep up with muggle subjects such as mathematics and physics. After all, in Harry's world physics didn't exist.

Worrying about muggle homework was not on his to do list, especially when he had yet to even find this Kagome girl. Harry thought finding the daughter of Snape would have been really easy.

While trying to figure out who the two men at the shrine were, Hermione was also trying to teach herself how to hack into the school's computer system in order to obtain some sort of name list or roster Harry could use.

In school Higurashi-san continued to spend class staring out the window. The radiant smile she had at the shrine seemed non-existent here. So when it came time for lunch, he decided to follow her when she dashed out of the door. She easily weaved her way between the crowded hallways, but Harry never took his eyes off of her.

When they made it to the stairwell at the end of the hall, where there were less people, she suddenly turned around and stared right at him. "Why are you following me?"

Harry stared back at her in astonishment. She had never once turned around or seemed to notice him when they left. But he answered never the less. "I just wanted to possibly eat lunch together," he said holding up his bento shyly. "You were so kind at your shrine, I was hoping we could be friends… since I'm new and all."

He felt so lame saying that. It was like being a first-year all over again at Hogwarts. She eyed-him suspiciously then nodded her head in approval. When they ascended the stairs, the door they went through revealed beautiful blue skies. So she ate on the rooftop, eh?

At first they sat quietly on the rooftop eating their lunches, but the silence seemed to be irritating her, so she decided to say, "Now that you've had a tour of my home and weekend life, I feel at a disadvantage. Tell me about yourself, Potter-san."

Seemed fair enough. "First, you can call me Harry. I'm not entirely too fond of being referred to by my last name. But my life is pretty ordinary. My parents died when I was young, so my aunt and uncle in England raised me. When I was old enough, I started living with my two best friends, who are now married. We moved here because of a job they got."

Harry didn't completely lie, but he still felt a little bad withholding the truth from her. But he knew that he couldn't reveal magic to muggles… and that included her.

The look on her face displayed her skepticism towards his story, after all it really wasn't that ordinary if you thought about it. "So what's the story behind your little stick, family heirloom?" She giggled.

If only she knew what his 'little stick' could do… Then an idea hit him! He could make up a story… "Actually it was a gift from a long time ago. You might laugh at me but it was a present from a girl I met when I was young. Before my parents died, we travelled here for a vacation and we immediately became friends. We used to carve sticks and pretend to be witches and wizards. I was hoping that, assuming she still lived here, she might be at this school."

This story seemed to be more interesting to her. After all, don't all girls adore long lost love stories? "That's so sweet!" she exclaimed. "Well most of us grew up here together so there is a good chance she is here. Do you remember her name?"

"I don't remember her last name," he said, trying to go along with his own story. "But her first name was Kagome."

Harry watched the girl raise her eyebrows in interest. They sat in silence for a moment, as she appeared to be deep in thought about the whole situation. "As a matter of fact, there is a girl named Kagome in our class. Believe it or not she's the only one in the school. Odds are it's the girl you're looking for. If you'd like, when we get back to the classroom I can introduce you."

Harry's stomach flipped with excitement. His idea had worked perfectly, and because of it he had already found Kagome after just two days of school. Hermione would be so proud of him. He had to restrain himself from doing his own little victory dance. All he could muster out was a simple thank you to Higurashi-san.

His excitement was increased when the bell rang across the campus signaling for all students to return to their classrooms. As they started descending the stairs, Higurashi-san suddenly stopped and gasped. "I forgot my bag! Go ahead without me and I will meet you there in a second."

As she turned around to go back to the roof, Harry walked back to the classroom beaming. Miss Higurashi was the best thing that could have happened to him. He knew following her would be a good idea. He mentally patted himself on the back.

But as he sat in his chair awaiting her arrival, Miss Higurashi never returned. When class started again, the teacher scanned the room and stopped when his eyes saw the empty chair next to Harry. "What happened to Higurashi-san?"

"Kagome normally eats lunch on the roof," a student called from the back of the room. "Maybe she fell asleep up there."

As his class giggled at the student's response, Harry lost all focus after the name Kagome was said. His stomach immediately dropped with dread and he lost all of his excitement from before.

He had been on the roof with her.

He had lied right to her face, about her. Perhaps she ran away, in fear that no such event had happened, and that Harry was up to no good. But there was no way she could know about him and the wizarding world… right?

"Professor," Harry stood up. The class suppressed laughter at his terminology, but he ignored them. "I'm not feeling well, do you mind if I go to the infirmary?"

"Okay Potter-san, get the notes from your classmates later," the instructor responded.

But Harry was already out the door. Hermione had enchanted his school bag so that it could hold an infinite number of things, including his invisibility cloak. As he walked out the front door and looked around for some sign of where Kagome could have gone, voices sounded from around the corner prompting him to put the cloak on and attempt to observe unnoticed.

"To what do I owe the honor of receiving two public visits from you in one week?"

"You disobeyed my orders. I told you to stay away from Harry Potter," the man said stoically. Harry knew he was famous, but he didn't think anyone over here would know his identity.

"He can't hurt me," she said defending herself. "My abilities are far more powerful than his."

"I don't doubt your abilities miko. But that boy attracts trouble and they will undoubtedly be after that jewel of yours."

Kagome nervously touched the right side of her stomach. "Thanks for the compliment, but I can handle myself Lord Sesshoumaru."

She started to walk away from him as he said: "You're making it really hard for me to honor my brother's dying wish."

Kagome paused and looked like she was fighting back tears. Whoever this guy's brother was, he was close to her. "So kill me yourself and be done with it! I don't belong here anyway!" She yelled at him and then took off running down the street towards her home.

The man Sesshoumaru sighed and then looked right at Harry. Harry held is breath and doubled checked to make sure his invisibility cloak was still on. In the blink of an eye this man went from across the field to inches away.

Sesshoumaru quickly thrust out his arm, put a tight grip on Harry's throat, and raised him off of the ground, back against the wall. Harry felt his air supply get cut off, and his body automatically went into panic mode. He clenched his captor's wrist in a hope to loosen his grip, but the man didn't budge.

Sesshoumaru glared at him. Harry was certain the man's eyes flashed red before going back to their usual amber color. Sharp nails dug into Harry's skin and he was fairly certain his attacker's palm was going to burn through his neck. With his other hand he ripped the invisibility cloak off.

"Stay away from the priestess," the man barked out at him. "I don't know what you or your ministry is up to, but do not involve her."

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru released him, and Harry fell to the ground attempting to take in as much air as possible. When he reached up to touch his neck, the flesh felt raw and was wet with blood. He looked up at the man who could have easily taken his life, and without the use of the killing curse.

Sesshoumaru continued to glare at the boy, but quickly threw the invisibility cloak back over him. The man started to walk away from Harry before turning around and saying, "You can't hide from us with your silly magic, so don't even try."

Harry watched as Kagome's mysterious guardian quickly disappeared, as if he had apparated from the area, untraceable. He picked up his invisibility cloak and stared at the singed hole in the center from where the man's hand had burned through it, and onto Harry's neck.


	9. Chapter 9

The pain Harry felt in his neck as he walked home was absolutely unbearable. But the dread he felt in his stomach as he stared at the safe house was even worse. The fact that he had screwed everything up so quickly ate away at him.

"Hermione's going to kill me…" he mumbled and ran his fingers through his own hair, a habit he had picked up when he was nervous. Slowly he walked down the pathway leading into the house. As soon as he opened the door he was greeted by Ron.

"Holy Hell, mate," Ron stared at his neck. "What happened to you?"

But before Harry could say anything, Hermione rounded the corner from the kitchen and dropped the plate she was carrying. "Harry James Potter, what in the world did this to you?"

"I'll explain later. Is there anything you can do about this? It hurts like hell," Harry said. He was so desperate that he would be okay with losing his neck all together.

Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand. Clearing her throat she said, "Vulnera Sanetur!" Much to their surprise, nothing happened. Shocked she repeated the spell once more. But again, nothing happened. "I don't understand," she muttered. Hermione never messed up a spell.

She tried to cast a few other spells on Harry's neck, but all had no effect on him. Harry groaned in pain and frustration. Hermione panicked and went into mother mode deciding that she'd just have to take the muggle route, and she rushed off to the pharmacy to get medical supplies while Ron ran after her.

Harry walked over and collapsed on the couch, attempting to at least get comfortable while he endured the pain. He closed his eyes, waiting patiently for the return of his two friends.

"Lord Sesshoumaru really got you good, didn't he?"

Harry's eyes shot open at the sound of the female voice coming from beside him. Squatting at eye level on the floor next to him was Kagome Higurashi, the girl he was supposed to find and managed to lie to.

She smiled weakly at him and placed her hands on his neck. He anticipated pain to shoot through his body at her touch, but was surprised when it didn't hurt at all. Her hands were warm, and after a few seconds the warmth spread from her to throughout his neck, quickly subsiding the pain.

Harry gently reached up and grabbed her hand. "What are you…?" He started to ask but didn't get to finish. His eyes locked with hers and they stared at one another for a few moments, as if analyzing each other and their intentions.

Here he finally was able to take in her appearance up close. Her big, blue, sapphire like eyes looked at him with wonder and curiosity, no doubt questioning who he really is as well. Her fair skin was flawless, free of any marks or blemishes. Hair as dark as the night framed her face and cascaded past her shoulders in soft waves. She was without a doubt beautiful, the complete opposite of Severus Snape.

No wonder this Hojo fellow liked her so much.

She turned her gaze away from his bashfully, and removed her hands from his neck and grasp. He was certain a light blush dusted her cheeks as she used the same hand he was just holding to sweep some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry about my friend, he's a bit protective. In all fairness, you did a really bad job of hiding from us."

In all fairness? Was she joking? "How did you know I was there? I had on my invisibility cloak, so I know you couldn't have seen me."

Kagome giggled. "Just because you hide yourself from one of our senses, doesn't mean our others don't perceive you." Harry looked at her confused, obviously not understanding what she meant. She sighed and followed up with, "I could sense your aura, but chose not to acknowledge you. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, could no doubt hear and smell you."

"Smell me?" Harry showered every night before going to bed. There was no way he could smell bad.

Kagome nodded. "He hates the smell of humans. I'm sure living here has been hell for him."

She makes it sound like life is so hard for this Sesshoumaru person. But, as Harry experienced first hand, this guy was obviously strong enough to fend for himself. "I have to ask, why did he tell you to stay away from me?"

She furrowed her brow at him in frustration. "Well, why are you looking for me so desperately? You're a terrible liar, so I'll know if you're telling the truth or not."

Harry sat up on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair again. He patted the couch cushion next to him, and was happy when she took the seat next to him. "My friends and I were hired to look after you and some powerful object you supposedly possess."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hired? Who hired you?"

Harry chuckled at Kagome's face, finally noting a similarity between her and Snape. He could still see the old potion master glaring at him and Ron as they talked throughout his class. "We were hired by two people. One was the headmaster of our old school. The other person was your father."

"My father?" She looked at him skeptically. "Unfortunately you're looking at the product of a one night stand my mother had in high school one winter while she was travelling in Europe. She wouldn't even tell me his name."

Harry reached in his inside coat pocket and pulled out the packet of letters. "His name was Severus Snape. He was a brilliant wizard who died saving my life and our world."

She took the letters from him and gingerly opened them. She skimmed through them pretty quickly. Since he hadn't planned on mailing them, Snape wrote very little in each addressed letter. Tears were welling up in her eyes for the father she never knew, and suddenly she had thrown her arms around him and was crying full force into his chest.

Harry sat absolutely still while Kagome cried into his shirt. He didn't deal with crying girls very often. Both Hermione and Ginny had hardly cried. Even after the battle at Hogwarts they remained strong for their friends and families. The last girl that had cried in his arms was Cho Chang. At least that ended with a kiss.

He carefully wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her hair to calm her down. After a few minutes she pulled away and wiped the remaining tears from her face. "I'm sorry," she said with a weak smile. "I was always so upset that he never knew about me, but he always did. Why did he die protecting you?"

After looking into Kagome's red and puffy eyes, the boy-who-lived immediately felt dreadful. This girl never got to meet her own father because he was busy aiding Harry in the war against Voldemort. Thankfully, Hermione slammed open the front door not only announcing her arrival, but allowing Harry to delay answering Kagome.

"I bought loads of ointment, and some gauze you can use to cover the burn," Hermione was rummaging around in the plastic bag from the pharmacy, not once taking notice of Kagome on the couch.

"Hey, it's Higurashi-san," Ron stated.

Hermione's eyes quickly looked up from the medical supplies, and at the girl looking on the couch. Harry could see everything running through her mind. She looked like she wanted to ask one-hundred questions at once, but eventually settled on one, "Harry, what happened to your injury?"

Harry immediately brought his hands up to his neck, expecting it to be bleeding or somehow gotten worse. But he felt nothing but normal, flawless skin. He rushed into the bathroom and was shocked to see that the awful burn that Sesshoumaru guy had inflicted on him, was gone. Not even a scar remained. He walked back out and stared at Kagome. "How did you do it?

And suddenly all eyes were on their mysterious houseguest sitting on the couch.


	10. Chapter 10

Tensions ran high as all eyes remained on Kagome. She had yet to say anything after Harry had asked her how she had been able to heal his wounds. It was all very mind boggling to him. How had this girl managed to do what Hermione's spells had failed to do?

Kagome tried her best to shrink into the couch, attempting to avoid the attention that he had brought on her. But after a few more moments of silence, she quickly stood up. "Well, this has been a very informative afternoon. Thank you, Harry, for these," she stated indicating the letters from Snape. "I'm sure my mother is wondering where I am, since school should have let out by now." And without saying another word she went out the door, shutting it gently behind her.

Then all eyes were on Harry.

No wonder she was anxious to leave as soon as possible, even if she hadn't answered his question. Hermione's look was more of a glare, and her anger was verified when she seethed out, "Why did that Higurashi girl just take Snape's letters?"

"Long and funny story, actually," Harry smiled sheepishly. "As it turns out Miss Higurashi is the Kagome we've been looking for."

Ron's jaw was practically on the floor in disbelief, while Hermione rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "And so you immediately brought her here after you found her? I thought we were going to figure out how to approach her together."

"I didn't bring her here!" Harry responded defensively. "She just let herself in and somehow managed to heal those marks that Sesshoumaru guy gave me…"

"Did you say Sesshoumaru?" Hermione's eyes widened as her mind raced a mile a minute trying to process the name she just heard. After Harry nodded, she ran to her room and immediately started rummaging through her things until she returned with a book in hand.

It was a book containing a small biography of everyone involved in the Ministry of Magic. It was a special edition that would update itself every year with any changes or additions to the book. Even they were mentioned in it under the Aurors section. She thumbed through the pages until she opened it to reveal the man that had so violently choked him in the schoolyard.

"I knew I recognized him," she said beaming down at the page in satisfaction. Harry however looked on it hatred for the man that caused him so much pain a couple of hours ago. He was dressed the same way they'd always seen him: with a business suit and his black hair pulled back into a ponytail, his amber eyes filled with a cold stare towards the camera. "He acts as the liaison for magical creatures and the ministry. Believe it or not he is one of the last remaining of his race."

"You mean he's not human?" Ron gaped at the picture. He may have looked like an emotionless man, but he still looked like a human.

"No," Harry managed to respond before Hermione could. "He was able to detect me underneath my invisibility cloak. Kagome mentioned that he didn't like the smell of humans."

"To be more precise, he is a demon," Hermione said, determined not to be outshined by information. "Demons have heightened strength, sight, smell, hearing, speed and almost any other ability you can think of. But they are on the brink of extinction. Because they are so rare no one knows very much about them."

The three fell silent, thinking over the term demon. But Ron was the one who voiced what they were all thinking, "So what is Kagome doing hanging out with demons?

No one had the answer.

Harry ran his hand through his hair and walked over to the couch. He sat back down and closed his eyes. Now that they had found Snape's daughter, they would have to figure out what to do next. He needed to win her trust so that they can protect her and this powerful artifact of hers. But if she could handle herself around demons, then couldn't she defend herself?

He brought a hand up to his neck and felt the now flawless skin. He hadn't even noticed that was what she was doing when she had her hands on him. He also hadn't properly thanked her for healing him. Instead he immediately wanted to know how she did it. He felt like an ass.

That's when he felt it. The absolute need to go to her shrine and apologize to her. He thought that would be the best and easiest solution to gaining her favor and trust. After all, he was doing this for Snape. Standing up, he made his way towards the door.

Hermione and Ron watched him curiously as he slid on his shoes. "Where are you going?" The mother of the house asked, no doubt making sure to keep tabs on all of the inhabitants of the safe house. "I'm making dinner."

"I'll be right back, I promise," Harry said smiling up at her. But his two friends looked at him warily. He could understand their uneasiness, since he was always getting himself into trouble. They let him go nonetheless.

As he approached the long staircase to the Sunset Shrine, he took a deep breath and ascended the stairs as quickly as possible. However, when he reached the top he was surprised to see Sesshoumaru standing there. The demon glared at him intensely, and flexed his claws at his side. Harry instinctively pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at him.

But Sesshoumaru smirked. "Go ahead and hit me with your best spell." Faster than Harry could blink, the man was standing behind him, claws inches from the wizard's face. Harry growled, knowing that if he did shoot a spell at him, it would miss because of the demon's enhanced speed. "I thought I told you to stay away from the girl."

Harry turned around and once again pointed his wand at the man. "She came to me first. It looks like she doesn't listen to you either." They glared at one another. Harry was determined to figure out his current foe's next move, a curse on the tip of his tongue.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru punched him in the gut, sending Harry flying into a large tree that adorned the shrine grounds and causing him to drop his wand in the process. Pain shot through his back and limbs as he attempted to stand up to defend himself. But before he could regain his balance, Sesshoumaru was standing over him with a large sword pointed at his face.

Before his opponent could attack, familiar hands emitting a bright white light pushed the demon out of the way, and blasted him across the yard. Harry's eyes widened when he saw Kagome standing protectively in front of him. In a flash, Sesshoumaru was standing in front of her, however he looked completely different.

Although he was still dressed in a very battered and burnt black suit, the demon's true features presented themselves. His hair was no longer black, but silver, and hung loosely almost touching the ground. Two magenta stripes adorned each of his cheeks and a blue crescent moon appeared in the center of his forehead. His eyes shone red with anger towards the girl that attacked him.

"Hello Lord Sesshoumaru," she said keeping her eyes locked with his. "Three visits in one week, twice in one day. I must be honored."

"Priestess," the demon growled out. "I'm done protecting you. But know this, you are walking into danger." And without another word, Sesshoumaru disappeared.

"Walking into danger seems to be a hobby of mine," she mumbled under her breath, barely loud enough for Harry to hear. Sighing, she turned her gaze towards him and smiled down at him. "Need a hand?" She asked offering her right hand to him.

He gladly accepted her help and stood up. Again, pain coursed through his body causing him to stumble into Kagome and knock her over, with him landing on top of her. "I'm so sorry," he started quickly, his face red from embarrassment. But as he tried to push himself up off of her, the immense pain caused him to fall back on top of her.

"It's okay, you hit that tree pretty hard," she responded. Her cheeks were also tinted a slight pink, also embarrassed by their current position.

Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her body in a tight hug. Her head rested in the crook of his neck, and he could feel her breath tickle his skin. "What are you doing?" he managed to stutter out in shock and confusion, not that he was completely opposed to the close contact.

"Will you please shut up?" Kagome said annoyed. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Harry immediately shut his mouth, and that's when he noticed that she was slightly glowing the same white light color that blasted Sesshoumaru. It was subtle but it was clearly there. He felt the same warmth course threw his entire body, as it did his neck the last time she had touched him. That's when it clicked. She was healing him again.

After a few moments of silence, she fell backwards onto the ground with her eyes closed. Harry was able to slightly lift himself up with his arms and looked down at her. "I'm sorry," he immediately blurted out, not knowing what else to say. "I came over here to thank you for healing me before. I promise I hadn't come to start trouble between you and your friend."

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Oh don't worry about Lord Sesshoumaru. He's got a soft spot for me, so I know he'll be back." She closed her eyes again and sighed, as if she were completely worn out or exhausted. That large attack she did on her friend on top of healing him twice must have really taken a toll on her energy.

He quickly rolled off of her and lay down next to her on the ground. Staring up at the sky, he watched as it started to darken allowing a few far off stars to shine through the sky. He listened to Kagome's breathing even out, as though she had fallen asleep. "Thanks for healing me… twice," Harry said out loud.

"You're welcome," she mumbled softly.

Harry chuckled to himself and looked up at the large tree he had slammed into. The trunk appeared to be unharmed from his impact with it. As his eyes traveled further up the tree, for a split second Harry thought he saw emerald green eyes much like his own glaring down at him.

But after he blinked, they were gone.


	11. Chapter 11

Once again Harry found himself staring dreadfully at the door to the safe house. This time he was arriving wound free, but he was worried about obtaining new ones as soon as he walked in the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to reveal a very angry Hermione Weasley.

"What happened to 'I'll be right back'?" Hermione asked glaring at him. Ron observed from the kitchen while munching on some chips. "I told you I was making dinner. You've been gone for three hours."

Harry looked away from Hermione, ashamed of making her worry so much, especially since she was pregnant. "I'm sorry. I went to see Kagome."

Hermione groaned in frustration. "How many years is it going to take you to understand that we need to do these things together? Stop trying to act alone."

He looked down at his feet in shame. Hermione sighed and stepped away from the entrance to the house, ushering him inside. As she walked to her bedroom, Ron walked up to his best friend and nudged him in the side. "Three hours, huh? What was that like?"

"Oh, shut up Won-Won," Harry said causing Ron to turn red in embarrassment from his old nickname bestowed upon him by Lavender Brown. "Nothing happened."

Ron stared at him in disbelief. "Nothing?" He raised an eyebrow, daring him to deny it again.

Harry rolled his eyes and started walking towards his bedroom. "I had another lovely encounter with that Sesshoumaru fellow, where he kindly handed my arse to me on a silver platter. Luckily, Kagome was able to step in and heal me again. Happy?"

He stepped into his room and shut the door before Ron could say anything else. Sighing he walked over to his bed and sat down. These constant encounters with this Sesshoumaru fellow really had him realizing just how weak he was. After defeating Voldemort and dozens of Death Eaters, Harry believed himself to be one of the most powerful guys in the world. Hell, some people thought he might be the next big dark wizard.

But in reality, while he was a strong wizard, he was an extremely weak person. Even Kagome, a girl who doesn't know any spells or about witches and wizards was stronger than he was. She had to step in and save him from the sword of a demon. Ruffling his hair in frustration he fell backwards on the bed.

Harry didn't remember falling asleep that evening. But Hermione violently shaking him quickly woke him up. "Wake up! You're going to be late!"

Groaning, he rolled over and out of his pregnant friend's grasp. "Leave me alone," he mumbled, still depressed from last night.

"Harry James Potter, if you don't get out of bed and get to school this instant, I will hex you," she said glaring at him.

"We already found Snape's daughter. I think I deserve a day off after yesterday," he grumbled.

She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at him, "Don't tell me you forgot that this mission had multiple parts. We still have to figure out this artifact of hers and protect her."

Sighing, Harry slowly got out of bed and got himself ready for school. He skipped over his hair knowing that not even magic would make it look presentable. As he walked towards the door, Hermione stopped him, and once again buttoned up his jacket for him.

"I know you don't want to do this," she whispered as she put the small buttons through the holes. "But if this object is as powerful as McGonagall says, then we need her on our side. Besides, I have a few questions I'd like to ask her."

"You're right…" he said as he walked toward the door. As he walked out he called back to her: "But if you want to brew up a poly juice potion, I will be more than happy to switch with you for a bit." Hermione rolled her eyes and shut the door behind him.

When he arrived in the classroom very few people were there, but Kagome once again took up her position staring out of the classroom window. Harry frowned and sat in his desk. "So is this daydreaming a hobby of yours, or are you that bored with school?"

She didn't even turn around.

Harry was confused. After everything that happened yesterday, he assumed that perhaps they had become a bit closer to one another. But instead she was completely ignoring him, as if nothing happened. Slumping his head down on his desk in frustration, he let out a sigh.

A hard slap on the back caused Harry to quickly sit back up and turn around. Hojo smiled down at him as the classmate sat in the desk in front of him. "Don't take it personally. She's been that way since returning to school from being sick for the past few years."

Harry thought he heard a snort come from his current mission at the boy's comment, but once again she chose not to say anything. He didn't try and talk to her again until lunchtime, where she once again was quick to leave the classroom. After waiting a few moments, he grabbed his bag and took off after her towards the roof.

As he opened the door and stepped toward the seemingly bare rooftop, his left ankle collided with something causing him to fall flat on his face. Turning around his eyes met angry sapphires glaring down at him. Kagome was standing right beside the entrance to the roof with her arms crossed. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Scrambling to his feet, he quickly returned the glare. "What am I doing? What are you doing? Do you always ignore people and then trip them?"

"Just idiotic people," she retorted. Quickly, she stomped over bringing herself closer to the boy-who-lived. "You can't just come to school and start acting like we're best friends," she seethed out quietly, trying to not to be too loud in case anyone could be listening in. "For someone who was hired to discreetly protect me, you're doing a bad job."

Harry didn't really know how to respond, she was absolutely right and he knew it. But as usual he let his temper get the best of him, so he responded defensively. "I never once said I was supposed to be discreet. My mission is to protect you and I am to do it in whatever way is necessary."

"Says the wizard trying to blend into a normal society," Kagome yelled, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "If my father was so smart, then why did he entrust my safety to the likes of you?"

"Because I won't let you down," he responded angrily, yet confidently. She pulled back, surprised by his answer. "Snape and I might not have always gotten along, but in the end we trusted one another."

The two locked eyes and glared at one another in silence. Harry never imagined Snape's daughter would be quite as stubborn as her father. While at first he didn't see any comparisons between the father and the daughter, but the more time he spent with her, the more he could see just how similar they are.

Kagome broke the silence first. "How am I supposed to have faith in a man who couldn't even bother spending even a second of his time with me, his own daughter?"

"There is a lot you don't know about our world, Kagome." Harry wouldn't stand for anyone to talk negatively about Severus Snape, even if it was his own daughter.

"Because I've been kept in the dark!" Her eyes shined, as if on the verge of tears. "He didn't let me into his life thinking that something might have happened to me. I am so tired of people doing things for my own good, thinking I'm some defenseless child. You don't know anything about me!"

Kagome was panting, taking in the air she missed out on during her rant from the heat of their argument. Harry sighed in defeat and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew she was strong. The girl had been able to protect him from Sesshoumaru as well as healed him twice.

She continued to stare at him, waiting for him to make the next move. She was right, he really didn't know anything about her, and it's time he took the time to learn. "Because I've been kept in the dark," he replied, using her own words to his advantage.

She rolled her eyes at his response and playfully nudged him. "You can try and be as cute as you'd like, but I still don't trust you."

The bell rang, signaling that they had but a few minutes to return to the classroom. Harry clutched his bag and made his way toward the door, turning around he asked, "Are you coming back to class this time?"

Kagome turned her nose to the air and stomped past him. He waited a few moments before following after her, knowing that she would probably yell at him if they entered the classroom at the same time.

They needed to talk and it needed to be soon. Without complete trust in one another, he wasn't going to be able to continue this mission. Taking out a piece of notebook paper, he scribbled a quick note requesting that she come over and talk with him, Ron and Hermione. They can put everything out in the open and he would answer any questions she might have.

Hopefully, she can answer a few questions he had for her.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry discreetly dropped the note on her desk as he got up and walked out the door. Hopefully she agreed to come over after school today so that they could talk. He quickly walked home to the safe house just in case she decided to come right after school. When he walked in the door, he was surprised to find the house empty.

Setting his bag down, he noticed a note that had been left on the kitchen counter. It read:  _Dear Harry, Ron and I are going to Mommy To-Be classes. I was going to go by myself, but apparently Ronald insisted on coming seeing as he is ready to be a mommy too. We'll be back in a bit. – Hermione_

It'll be good to have the house to themselves, seeing as he was positive Hermione was ready to attack the poor girl with questions. Now he could ask her some in private, while answering a few of hers. They needed to build trust with one another, without others getting in the way, and that included Ron and Hermione. He could easily fill them in afterwards.

It wasn't for half an hour that the doorbell rang, and Harry Potter quickly jumped up from the couch and answered the door. He opened the door to reveal Kagome standing in the doorframe. She smiled up at him, "Hello Harry. Sorry it took so long, I wanted to change."

He quickly ushered her inside and shut the door and took in her appearance. Her black skirt seemed even shorter than the school uniform, and her dark purple, button down, short sleeved shirt was open enough to reveal some cleavage. He gulped. "So you're not still mad about earlier?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well we're not at school around other people, so there is no act to put up. Besides, I know deep down you're just doing your job."

Her smile reassured him as she sat down on the couch. She patted the seat next to her, hoping that he would join her. It was odd seeing her so happy. But he sat next to her nonetheless. "Would you like to ask the first question?" He offered, hoping to start off on her good side.

"I want to know exactly what your mission is," she said eyeing him suspiciously. "Because I have a feeling you weren't just supposed to find me."

"Our official mission is to protect you, and whatever artifact it is you possess," he responded, and she instantly narrowed her eyes at him. "I swear I have no idea what this item is! Just that it is very powerful."

She snorted at him. "Of course you don't. No one else should know about it. And I don't need  _your_  protection. I have my own means of protecting myself. I know you've met Lord Sesshoumaru."

Harry winced, remembering the pain that the demon lord inflicted on him the day before. "Yes, well, I'm doing this for your father too. I owe him that much."

She narrowed her eyes at his response. "If you're doing this for your petty conscience then don't waste your time."

"What?! No," Harry groaned in exasperation. He slid off the couch and knelt on the ground before Kagome bringing them face-to-face. "I  _want_  to protect you. I know what it's like to be hunted for, and if I hadn't had my friends, I would be dead. I  _won't_  let you die."

There was so much confidence and sincerity in his voice that she couldn't help but blush. She returned the grip he had on her hand and turned from his gaze. "Get off the floor," she muttered. "You're embarrassing yourself."

He slowly got up and once again joined her on the couch, but when he tried to pull his hand away, she continued to grip it. She then lowered her head and clutched his hand even tighter. Confused he asked, "Are you all right?"

She looked up at him with big eyes. "I've just never had someone so seriously protective of me after such a short period of time. Well… maybe except for Kouga."

As he pondered in his head who this Kouga person was, he failed to notice the girl hoist her legs up on to the couch until she knocked him over and was crawling on top of him. Thrown off guard and even more confused he stuttered, "Wh-what…?"

But was silenced by her lips crashing down upon his. He had to admit they were soft, much softer than Ginny's were. His body hesitated before returning the kiss. However, his mind was screaming at him for snogging with Snape's one and only daughter, the girl he was supposed to be protecting.

Before his mind could scream anything else, a loud gasp from the doorway announced the return of Hermione and Ron Weasley. The two teenagers froze on the couch. His friends stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at the two of them. "Bloody Hell, mate," Ron mumbled impressed.

"What is going on?" Hermione seethed out. Harry knew he was in trouble now. But before he could say anything else, another angry voice sounded from behind the married couple.

"That's what I'd like to know."

Hermione stepped aside to reveal a fuming Kagome Higurashi. The golden trio looked back and forth between the Kagome that was straddling Harry, and the one in the doorframe tapping her foot in frustration. "Did Snape have twins?" Ron asked dumbly.

Doorframe Kagome was glaring in Harry's direction, and he gulped knowing that now, he was really in trouble. When no one said anything, doorframe Kagome's left eye twitched in annoyance and she stomped toward him. Panicked, he stood up causing the Kagome on top of him to fall to the ground. "I can explain," he said on impulse, even though he wasn't sure which one was the real Kagome Higurashi, or if he could really explain anything at all.

"Save it," she snapped at him, and turned her gaze to her duplicate sitting on the floor. "What, do you think you're doing?"

"I just wanted to make sure these guys weren't lying about protecting you," floor Kagome said pouting. "I could  _smell_  his attraction… and he was just so sweet, I couldn't help myself."

Harry blushed at the comment embarrassed and Ron sniggered. But he had at least figured out that the Kagome standing up was the real one, which made him wonder, if she _didn't_  have a twin, who was the duplicate sitting on the floor. Which in turn left him puzzling: who kissed him?

"I don't care how sweet he is," real Kagome yelled down at the fake one. "How dare you run around impersonating me? And are you wearing my clothes?!"

Fake Kagome stood up. "Well you never wear them! You're always running around in that school uniform of yours! For years that's all I've seen you wear!"

"How many times do I have to explain that it's comfortable and easy to move in?"

The golden-trio followed the two Kagome's fashion argument back and forth, completely ignored. Harry found himself growing more and more annoyed at the scene before him, especially since he was still left in the dark as to who was just snogging him on the couch. By the look on Hermione's face, he could tell she was just as irritated. Ron on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the whole exchange.

Harry stepped toward the two girls. "Um, excuse me."

"WHAT?!" They both turned toward the boy-who-lived, glaring at him for the interruption.

He gulped, regretting halting their heated argument. He looked toward the fake Kagome, "I was just wondering, who are you again?"

She smiled back at him, a mischievous glint in her eye. Harry was startled when she closed her bright sapphire eyes, and opened them to reveal striking emerald eyes. Ones that he remembered staring down at him from a tree for a brief second yesterday. "The name's Shippou," her voice was now deeper and more man-like. "I'm an expert illusionist."

"Oh hell no," Kagome grabbed onto the Shippou character's hand and started dragging them toward the door. "You are not transforming in my clothes. I do not have the patience for that today."

"But mom," Shippou whined out as they walked out the door and down the sidewalk. The last comment just made the three wizards even more confused.

When the two were out of sight, Hermione stomped toward the door and slammed it shut. "How do these people keep getting past my barrier?" She screamed out. Her fists were clenched at her side as she walked toward him. "What is going on?"

"I honestly have no idea," Harry responded truthfully. He honestly didn't have a clue as to what just happened in their house. He was actually more confused now then he was before.

Hermione brought her hands to her head to massage her temple. "This whole case has left me with a constant migraine. I'm going to lay down."

She grabbed Ron's hand and dragged her husband to the bedroom, leaving Harry Potter to his own thoughts. Frustrated, Harry ran his fingers through his dark hair and made his way to his own bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and lay down, his feet legs still hanging over the side.

What  _had_  just happened? He closed his eyes and replayed the whole thing in his head. He scowled realizing that he hadn't truly learned anything about Kagome, other than that she had some weird friends. And if Shippou's illusion was accurate…

She had some really soft lips.


	13. Chapter 13

The rest of the evening was quiet in the house. After relaxing for an hour, Hermione made her way to the kitchen and started making dinner. They decided to stick with something quick and simple.

As they ate, Hermione stabbed at her food in frustration. Harry watched her curiously, but did not want her wrath directed at him. But he had no doubt that Ron would say something.

"What's wrong 'mione?" Her husband asked between bites.

"What's wrong?" She suddenly threw her fork on the table and folded her arms against her chest angrily. "What's wrong is I feel like we haven't accomplished anything except for find this girl. I've been doing research but I can't find any information on any ancient and powerful artifacts."

Harry and Ron smirked at one another. "I thought you liked a challenge," Ron said as he shoved another large bite of food in his mouth.

"Yes but I haven't figured anything out about her! If she supposedly grew up as a muggle, what is she doing hanging out with Ministry demons? How can we trust her? And how do they keep getting through my barrier?!" She slammed her hands on the table in frustration and glanced between the two men.

Harry knew that pregnancy made women emotional, and he initially would have blamed her frustrated behavior on it. But now he knew her pride had been hurt. Hermione's magic and spells were always accurate, and ever since their arrival in Japan, her magic hand failed in her eyes.

Hermione took in a deep breath and sighed in an attempt to calm down. "This case has so many secrets, and I feel like we haven't learned anything."

"We have learned one thing," Ron said looking Harry in the eye and grinning. "Our best mate is ready to try dating again."

Harry frowned. He had been hoping to get through dinner without mentioning his make-out session with the fake Kagome from earlier. But apparently he wasn't so lucky. Pushing his plate forward, he stood up and announced, "I'm going for a walk."

As he walked out the door, his friends spoke out his name in protest, but he didn't stop. Any one he passed along the way no doubt thought he was depressed, walking with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. Before he knew it he was in the nearby park, and made his way to the closest bench to sit down. Pulling his hands from his pockets, he pulled out the one object that had remained on his person for the past month: Ginny's engagement ring.

He stared at the diamond ring that Harry had been so nervous to give to the Weasley girl. He knew she would accept, but he had been wracked with concern that for some crazy reason she would say no. After all, it had been love at first sight for Ginny before her first year at Hogwarts. Even though she had dated other boys throughout her time at school, she still had her hopes to be with him. And during his sixth year, he fell for her hard and couldn't stand other boys being around her.

Now it was over.

Sighing, Harry closed his eyes. Perhaps it really was never meant to be. With the Second Wizarding War consuming his last year at Hogwarts, they really rushed into things. The biggest difference was that she thought the whole war was over, while he knew that it wasn't.

There are still Death Eaters out there. Angry dark creatures seeking revenge for their loss in the war are most likely planning an attack as he lounged about in Japan. And now there is some ancient artifact in the mix, so who knows what could happen.

With so much evil in the world, how could he bring a child into the world? He didn't care if it sounded silly. Harry James Potter was always going to be a target and that is never going to change. Besides, he's only 19 and she 18. It was too early in life to be thinking about children…

But the real question is: Was he ready to move on?

"You're not planning on proposing are you?"

Harry looked to his side, unaware that he had any company and was a little shocked to see amused sapphire eyes staring back at him. Kagome was slyly smiling at him and his eyes immediately drifted towards her lips. Even if they technically weren't the same ones he had been kissing earlier.

"And before you ask, I am the real Kagome. Shippou is in time out on bad behavior," she said nudging him.

Harry responded with a weak smile and hid the ring from sight. "No, I'm not quite ready to be engaged again."

She raised a curious eyebrow at his comment. "I didn't realize you'd already been engaged before. I knew it had to be something big for you to be this depressed. It wasn't Shippou's fault was it?"

Harry let out a laugh. "No, our relationship ended about a month ago. It was only my fault apparently though. By not being ready to be a father."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Ah yes. Raising children is very hard. And they never  _really_  grow up, you know."

Now it was Harry's turn to raise a curious brow. "You act like you know."

"Oh but I do," she said turning to him in all seriousness. "I just told you I had to put Shippou in time out, and he's a grown man."

Harry's mind started to race. Not only was Snape a father, but a grandfather as well? None of this was mentioned in the letters he read. And he was positive that she was only a teenager. All of this just wasn't adding up in his mind. Meanwhile Kagome sat there watching him amusingly.

Suddenly she burst out laughing. "You should see your face!" She said between giggles. "You look so confused!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "Well to be honest, I am."

"He's adopted," she said wiping away a tear from laughing so hard. "But it's a very long story. One I'm sure we'll exchange eventually."

Harry's smile widened at her last comment. Finally they were getting somewhere with trust. No matter how long it took for her to open up to him, he would wait. But it would please Hermione to know that a little bit of progress was made. Maybe they could all slowly trust one another.

"Come on, it's getting late," Harry said. "I'll walk you home."

"All right," she responded with a stunning smile. "Besides, I'm sure your friends are wondering where you went."

Standing up, they started walking toward the Sunset Shrine. It was quiet outside and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon. They were quiet as they walked, which apparently irritated his companion, because she suddenly nudged him again as they approached the seemingly endless stairs that lead to her home. "You should cheer up. The intensity of your depression is what allowed me to find you so easily. Besides, I'm sure Shippou would agree to your proposal," she said grinning again.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I've technically never seen him before. He was too busy impersonating you."

"And you were too busy kissing him anyway," she retorted playfully. "Nice to know you think I'm so pretty."

Trying to avoid sorting out any emotions he was feeling, Harry decided to approach this topic differently. "Well you must get your looks from your mother, because you sure as hell don't look like your father."

By this time they had reached the top of the staircase, and he was surprised to see the concerned face of Hermione staring at him from a few feet away, Ron by her side. "Oh Harry, we were so worried when you walked out like that!" She exclaimed rushing to forward to hug him.

Hugging her back reassuringly he stated, "I'm fine Hermione. I just needed to think for a bit."

Ron sheepishly stepped forward. "Sorry mate. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that since you and Ginny split…"

"Ron, don't worry about it," Harry said cutting him off. He wasn't ready to talk to Ron about relationships.  "I promise I am fine. Besides, Kagome was there to cheer me up. She suggested I propose to Shippou."

Ron laughed at his comment, while Hermione eyed the girl warily. She clearly didn't trust Kagome since she held so many secrets. He would have to figure out how to reassure his friend that there wasn't anything to be worried about.

Suddenly Kagome stiffened. "Someone's coming…" she muttered and shuddered. Her eyes scanned the area before they landed in front of the giant tree on the property. "There."

Just then, a loud crack sounded in the air, and a dark haired figure had apparated into the spot that Kagome had indicated. No doubt Hermione added that to the list of secrets the girl probably had, but now was not the time to worry about it.

The man was clad in black, and his dark hair covered his face. Ron and Harry immediately pulled out their wands, both crying out " _Stupefy_!"

But the wizard easily dodged the attack and let out a demented laugh. He raised his dark eyes toward them and grinned from ear to ear. "Well if it isn't Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and his brilliant wife Hermione Granger." His eyes watched the group as he said each of their names and then settled on Miss Higurashi. "And here is the girl I've been told so much about."

Harry narrowed his eyes and took a protective step in front of Kagome. Being an Auror had given him all the access files to everyone that was known for being a Death Eater, so this evil wizard was no stranger to him. But the last time he saw this man was when he was staring blankly and with no remorse throughout his trial after the war.

Rodolphus Lestrange.


	14. Chapter 14

No one said anything.

All four of the wizards had their wands drawn. Rodolphus grinned evilly with his own dark wand pointed at the group. The silence was definitely nerve wracking, but no one dared to make the first move.

Harry's anger was rising more and more each second at the lack of action. "What are you doing here Rodolphus? Shouldn't you be in Azkaban?"

The dark wizard chuckled and started to twirl his wand in his hand. "Come now, I thought you Ministry dogs knew everything? I've come for more than one reason of course."

"Enlighten me," Harry seethed out while tightening his grip on his wand.

"I first wanted to investigate whether these rumors circulating about Severus having a daughter were true or not," his dark eyes looked past Harry to the girl he was protectively standing in front of. "And if  _you're_  here, they must be true."

"She has nothing to do with you," Ron shouted as he stood next to Hermione. "And you won't get to her with us here."

"Oh, but she is but a minor part of why I'm here," Rodolphus took a step forward and stilled his wand. "I'm sure you three remember my beloved wife."

"Crazy, sadistic, bitch is what she was," Hermione called out. None of them had forgotten the harm she caused on the Longbottom family, or when she dared to attack Ginny Weasley with her mother standing there.

Rodolphus glared at the witch's outburst. While it was clear that Bellatrix's feelings existed only for Voldemort, apparently her husband had loved her enough to react to her death. "I've come for two things. Revenge and the jewel," his eyes flickered back to Kagome for a brief second before returning to the redheaded wizard. He suddenly pulled out a second wand from his cloak and aimed one each at Harry and Ron, throwing them off guard. "I'll start with killing  _your_  wife.  _Everte Statum_!"

The spell erupted from both wands and hit the boys in the chest, sending them flying in opposite directions, and leaving the girls only a few feet away from the Death Eater. Harry mentally cursed for allowing himself to let his guard down. Ron's eyes were filled with fear and panic as he landed next to an old shack on the property. Rodolphus grinned triumphantly and raised his personal wand toward Hermione who had frozen in fear.

There was no way the two Aurors would ever get up in time to disarm the murderous wizard making his way toward their best friend. Not to mention that he was sure to attack Kagome afterwards. Who knows what the Death Eaters would do to Snape's daughter?

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

The green light went flying out of his wand and toward Hermione Weasley. Time seemed to slow down as the spell travelled across the shrine grounds.

Then, the girl who had been standing idly by throughout the encounter shocked them all by running toward Hermione and stepping protectively in front of her. The killing curse instantly hit her and she crumpled to the ground motionless.

Rodolphus growled and again raised his wand to strike. But Harry quickly got up and yelled, " _Immobulis_ ," instantly freezing the Death Eater in his spot.

Hermione collapsed speechless on the ground, having stared death in the face. Ron rushed to his wife's side asking her repetitively if she was okay. Harry ran over to where Kagome's body was lying on the ground in front of his two best friends. He cautiously hovered his hands over her, debating on whether or not he should touch her. Then reality hit him.

He had failed.

Hermione started crying and latched onto the motionless girl before her. "She saved my life… our child's life! I can't believe I didn't trust her!" Ron sat behind his wife rubbing circles into her back and trying to calm her down.

Harry on the other hand, felt his anger rising once more. Standing up, he walked over and grabbed their attacker's wands and instantly snapped them in half. Then, gathering up as much strength as possible, Harry punched the wizard in the face as hard as he could, causing him to topple over, still frozen in the same stance.

"What is going on?"

Harry froze instantly recognizing the cold monotonic voice coming from the shrine stairs. He slowly turned around and came face to face with glaring golden eyes. Sesshoumaru was in the human form he had witnessed the first day they ever came to the shrine, accompanied by the same auburn-haired companion, who was kneeling next to the frozen Death Eater.

"The priestess's power flared and could be felt across town," the demon lord continued. "Any demon in the country could have felt it."

The boy-who-lived gulped, fearing that he might not be alive much longer. But after failing with his mission and failing in his relationship with Ginny, maybe he should welcome the demon's attack with open arms. "Rodolphus Lestrange appeared and tried to kill Hermione…"

"Let me guess," the auburn-haired man stood up and made eye contact with him. "Kagome jumped in front of the spell to protect her?"

Harry nodded and Hermione once again burst into tears. Sesshoumaru changed his focus from the Auror to the wizard on the ground and growled. "Well then, this Sesshoumaru has a trip to take to the Ministry," he said while lifting Rodolphus off of the ground with one hand and instantly apparating from the area.

Harry let out of a sigh of relief. He was certain that the demon was going to instantly kill him. When his gaze fell on the fallen girl, his heart dropped. He walked over and sat next to her, burying his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry…" he mumbled. "This is all my fault."

A light touch on his leg caused Harry to remove his hands from his face. A small, pale hand rested lightly on his knee and sapphire eyes struggling to stay open watched him curiously. "You're always apologizing," she said weakly. "Why do you always think everything is your fault?"

All three wizards exchanged wide-eyed glances with one another, confused at how she could be alive. Harry grabbed her hand, helping her sit up. "I can't believe it…" He looked her over checking to see if anything was wrong with her, but found nothing. "You're alive."

"Yeah," she said smiling weakly. "I have a habit of surviving everything."

Her eyes suddenly closed and she slumped forward face first into Harry's chest, unconscious once more. Panicking, Harry checked her pulse. When he found it to still be beating, he let out a sigh of relief and gently hugged her.

"Calm down, wizard." Kagome was removed from his arms and into the auburn-haired mystery man's. "I'll take her from here."

Harry looked up in protest. "Who do you think you are to just take her like that?" He asked while standing up. Ron and his wife stood supportively behind him, ready to do anything for the girl that had saved Hermione's life. "We are her guardians, so we will take her."

Then the man slumped his shoulders and looked at him hurt. "I can't believe you've forgotten our kiss. Here I thought we had something special…"

Harry's eyes widened in realization as he looked at the teary emerald orbs in front of him. His mouth fell open in instant recognition and disbelief, " _You're_  Shippou?"

"In my natural form," he responded with a fanged grin. "I know I'm not your preferred gender, but I was hoping we could make it work." Ron burst out in laughter behind him and even Hermione tried to hide her smile. "Well then," he continued. "I'm going to get sleeping beauty here to bed."

But as he tried to step toward the house, Hermione rushed forward blocking his path. "Oh no you don't. I'm not letting the girl that saved not only my life, but my child's life to go off with a demon."

Shippou frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Harry quickly said, "It's okay Hermione. He's her son."

Both the demon and his friends looked at him confused. "She told you that?" Shippou asked. Harry slowly nodded, still not really sure how Kagome had managed to 'adopt' someone that was clearly older than her. But he had to trust her.

"You can't be serious," Hermione said, determined not to believe what he had just said. "That's not possible."

"Well, if Kagome said so, then I believe her," Harry said. He gazed at the girl resting peacefully in her son's arms. "She should be put to bed. Besides, we have a lot of questions for her when she wakes up."

Sending Harry a thankful smile, Shippou again started to walk toward the house on the shrine grounds. But this time, a loud crack stopped them. Lord Sesshoumaru blocked his companion's path. "There has been a change of plans. Now that the rebel group knows where she lives, the Higurashi family is to be relocated, for safety reasons."

"What about Kagome?" Hermione asked. She was desperate not to lose the girl that had bravely stepped in front of the killing curse. Despite Kagome being of Slytherin descent, she would have no doubt been sorted into Gryffindor had she attended Hogwarts.

"The Ministry has decreed that the priestess will stay with the Aurors," the demon liaison stated, his eyes zeroing in on Harry. "But if anything goes wrong, this Sesshoumaru will not delay in taking her from you."

"We won't let you down," Harry responded confidently. "We will protect her with everything we've got." Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Sesshoumaru disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived after their guarantee at Kagome's safety. Shippou smiled and graciously offered to carry her back to the safe house. Hermione was still a little miffed when the two easily went through the barrier, but decided to hold her questions for a later date.

"You can put her in my room," Harry offered since Ron and Hermione are a married couple, and he wasn't about to make her sleep on the couch. They hovered over the priestess, watching her sleep. "I'll keep watch for the night to see if she wakes up and needs anything. You guys get some rest."

Hermione and Ron excused themselves to their bedroom leaving Harry and Shippou alone. They continued to watch without speaking with one another. Questioned reeled through Harry's head, ones that he couldn't wait to get answers for.

"She's immune to magic, you know," Shippou said breaking their silence. "Her body just purifies it on impact. But an Unforgivable Spell like the killing curse probably put a strain on her powers."

"Amazing," Harry stated in pure disbelief. He had never heard of anyone possessing such a power. "I can't believe Snape didn't want her to come to Hogwarts."

"It's not just because her father didn't want her to attend," Shippou said while shaking his head. "While she is capable of her own priestess magic, she isn't a witch. She wouldn't have been able to attend Hogwarts anyway."

Harry pondered the fact that a descendant of Snape's wasn't a witch, and it was slightly mind-boggling. Granted, so was the fact that he even had a daughter. Especially one associated with demons. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I trust you," Shippou responded while walking toward the door. "And more importantly, she trusts you. Kagome's judgments are never wrong." With that said he left Harry alone while Kagome slept comfortably on the center of the bed.

Summoning a chair, he continued to watch her throughout the evening. After the day's events, they were going to have to be more careful. Clearly they were unprepared for an attack, and if it hadn't have been for Kagome and her priestess powers one of his best friends would have been killed.

Running his fingers through his hair he rested his head on the edge of the bed and stared at her sleeping form. Her lips were slightly parted as she softly breathed in and out. Her hair contrasted greatly with the white pillow under her head, and cascaded around her beautifully, her entire body radiated a soft white light as she healed herself.

"For the record," he mumbled to himself. "I  _do_  think you're pretty."


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning came about too quickly.  As Harry got up to see if Hermione and Ron were awake, he glanced one more time at Kagome's sleeping form. In her sleep she had managed to rotate the pillow and wrap both her arms and legs around it, cuddling it gently. His eyes unconsciously scanned her body before resting on her now exposed black panties from straddling the pillow.

Hurriedly leaving the room, he sat down at the dining room table red in the face and feeling guilty for even looking at his professor's daughter like that while she slept. Hermione looked at him worriedly as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he said before taking a sip of the highly caffeinated beverage. "Just didn't want to get up is all."

"I know what you mean," Ron chimed in with a yawn. "After yesterday, I just wanted to stay in bed."

"How's Kagome doing?" Hermione asked generally concerned over their new houseguest.

"Still sleeping," Harry responded. "But she seemed pretty comfortable, so I think she has made a complete recovery."

"I still can't believe she jumped in front of the killing curse for me, practically a complete stranger," she said still in disbelief.

"I can't believe she is alive," Ron said sipping his own coffee. "That's now two people that have survived the killing curse. But I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any Horcruxes residing in  _her_  body."

"Shippou said her body is immune to wizarding magic, and that her body purifies it," Harry stated, repeating what the demon had told him the night before.

"Bloody Hell," Ron muttered putting his coffee down. "I didn't even know it was possible for  _anything_  to be immune to magic."

"It all actually makes sense now," Harry said thinking back to the day his neck was destroyed by the demon lord. "When Sesshoumaru was trying to warn Kagome about us, she mentioned that there was no way we could hurt her. He also always refers to her as priestess."

Hermione let out a gasp. "So she is an actual priestess? That explains everything. Especially how she is able to heal and get through my barrier so easily. What it doesn't explain is what she is doing with demons, especially since one is her 'son'. I always read that demons and holy figures didn't exactly get along."

Suddenly a high-pitched scream sounded from Harry's room, prompting the three of them to rush to the room, wands drawn. However they lowered them when they saw a panic-stricken Kagome straightening her hair and uniform in the mirror before turning frustrated toward them. She angrily marched up to her classmate, "Why didn't you wake me up for school?! Now we are late!"

Ron rolled his eyes as she tried to push through the trio. But Harry was stronger. "Oh no you don't," he said grabbing her arm and pulling her back toward the bed. Sitting her down, she glared up at him with her arms crossed. "You're taking a day off. You need it."

"Oh, do tell when  _you_  became an expert on what  _I_  need," she said impersonating Harry's British accent and feigning interest. Ron sniggered behind him, but Hermione nudged him in the side to stop.

"I must agree with Harry," Hermione said stepping forward and interrupting what probably was a moment away from becoming a full-blown argument. "We have a lot to sort out after yesterday's events."

"And both of us staying home wouldn't look suspicious to anyone at school?" Kagome stood up facing off with Harry. Well, not exactly face-to-face since she only came up to his chin. "Have you ruled out the possibilities of there being any evil wizard or creature attending our school?"

Harry blinked down at the girl still glaring up at him. They hadn't investigated that possibility at all. "Well, no - "

"We have to maintain appearances you dolt!" Kagome interrupted. "The moment we get caught together it will spread around the school like -"

She suddenly stumbled forward from weakness, most likely from using her powers so much and not eating anything, right into Harry's chest. Helping her regain her balance, he smirked triumphantly, "And you wanted to go to school today…"

"Shut up," she mumbled turning her head away from him. No doubt she was red from embarrassment. "I probably just need some food…"

"I'll make something right now!" Hermione exclaimed while rushing out of the room and drawing her wand again, Ron hot on her heels to help in anyway possible.

Kagome pulled away keeping her face turned from him and remained silent. This headstrong girl despite her bravery still held traces of her Slytherin heritage, whether she knew of it or not. The sorting hat would no doubt have had a field day trying to place her in one of the Hogwarts houses, had she attended.

"Come on Miss Stubborn," Harry said offering his arm to Kagome. He didn't want to risk her collapsing on the way to the kitchen table and not being quick enough to catch her.

But apparently she was too prideful for even that. Snorting she walked away from him. "I can take care of myself. Have been long before  _you_  came around."

She sauntered out of the room, skirt swaying back and forth as she did. Harry certainly didn't mind walking behind her. In fact, he enjoyed it very much. He definitely couldn't deny his physical attraction toward the fiery girl. But that's all it was at the moment. After all, she is still  _Snape's_  daughter.

Wonderful aromas filled the air as they walked into the kitchen. The sound of bacon sizzling on the stove was music to Harry's ears. He wasn't sure when the last time Kagome ate was, but since he had skipped out on dinner early last night to brood in the park, his stomach was rumbling with anticipation. The sight of toasted bread, fried eggs, hash browns, and sausage already on the table made him even hungrier.

"What is all this?" Kagome eyed the food warily. The English style breakfast menu was slightly foreign to her, but her loudly rumbling stomach betrayed her suspicion and caused her to blush in embarrassment once more.

 _Cute_ , Harry thought to himself while sipping on his coffee again. Hermione hurriedly walked into the kitchen with a plate full of bacon and set it on the table. Beaming down at the food she helped prepare (magic no doubt played a huge role in her cooking) she said, "I'm sorry it's not a Japanese breakfast that you're accustomed to, but I'm positive you'll find it to your satisfaction."

The three friends watched as she picked various items from the assortment that lie before her and place them on her plate. Her eyes lit up as she tasted bacon for the first time and was quick to grab more. Ron on the other hand was busy stuffing his face just as he had done in his Hogwarts days, skipping the plate all together... as well as chewing no doubt.

After eating his fill, Harry rose from the table and placed his plate in the sink. As he walked back to rejoin his friends, he noticed a copy of  _The Daily Prophet_  on the edge of the counter. Grabbing it he unfolded the paper and marveled at the front-page story.

A picture of a badly beaten Rodolphus Lestrange adorned the cover. He had so many scratches and burns that his face was pretty disfigured while his clothes were also almost ripped to shreds on his body. The caption read:  _"Beaten and battered Death Eater and Azkaban escapee Rodolphus Lestrange was found late last night at the Ministry of Magic"_. The article also asked for readers that knew any information about the incident to report to the Ministry as soon as possible.

"That's definitely Sesshoumaru's handiwork," Kagome said standing behind him and munching on another piece of bacon. She held her empty plate in her hands, intending to take it to the sink as well. "You should recognize those burn marks." She winked and nudged him playfully as she continued her path into the kitchen. Harry smiled. Thankfully eating something had put the girl in a better mood.

A knock on the door interrupted their now peaceful morning. Hermione groaned as she stood up to answer it. "Kagome is already in the barrier," she mumbled as she walked by. "Who else can get through it?"

The door opened to reveal Shippou standing in the doorway. "Honey, I'm home," he sang as he walked right in, bypassing the welcome from Hermione.

Kagome giggled. "Are you talking to me, or to Harry?"

"To Harry of course," Shippou responded and placed a peck on his cheek taking everyone by surprise except for Kagome.

Ron suddenly started choking on his food, caught off guard by the demon's actions. Harry rolled his eyes and took a step away from him. "Yes, it's nice to see you too," he responded sarcastically. "But why are you here?"

"I came to check on my mother of course." Shippou walked over and hugged his adopted mother that was significantly shorter than her demon son.

"I'm fine Ship," she said gladly hugging him back. "These three have been taking good care of me. But when can I go home?"

Sighing he released her and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "I'm sorry Kags," he smiled weakly. "This issue from last night has caused quite a stir. Sesshoumaru and I have to leave to sort things out. You're going to have to stay here for a while."

The smile that adorned her face mere moments ago quickly disappeared as anger contorted her face. "What do you mean I have to stay here? Why can't I go home?"

"For now the Sunset Shrine is closed down. We've relocated your family for safety reasons. I'm sure you wouldn't want anything to happen to them because of your burden," he said, carefully choosing his words.

Harry watched as a range of emotions flooded over Kagome. It appeared as though she knew he was right, but wasn't happy about the situation. "How long will you be gone," she whispered.

"It could take days or it could take weeks. But for your protection, we have to do this. Sesshoumaru thinks that staying with these guys is the safest place for you right now."

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "What am I supposed to do without you guys? How will I sleep? Who will I talk to?" She extended one of her hands and gripped the front of Shippou's shirt.

"I think it's time to combine your past with your present," Shippou said taking the hand that was entangled in his shirt and grasping it in his clawed one. "They won't let you down."

Gently placing a kiss on her forehead, she looked up at him with her big blue eyes, still shimmering with tears. "You'll stay in contact won't you?"

"Of course," Shippou responded with a fanged grin. "But now, if you'll excuse me. I can't keep Lord Sesshoumaru waiting. You know how he acts when he gets upset." He sent Harry a wink at his last line and disappeared out the door.

Eyes returned to Kagome, who was gazing towards the door depressed. Harry took a step toward her, but she quickly took a step away from him. Continuing to avoid contact, she walked past the group and into the backyard, slamming the door behind her.

After the show they just had, the trio figured it would be best to leave her alone for now.


	16. Chapter 16

Kagome sat alone outside for the remainder of the day. By the time the sun started to set, the trio was uncertain on what to do. They contemplated approaching her, but quickly found that she had erected a barrier around the back porch blocking the door. Just for the heck of it, Hermione tried to break it but was unsuccessful.

They did, however, learn that she could personally feel whenever someone tried to get through her barricade. The barrier was a part of her, so as soon as someone touched it, she was immediately alerted of the attempted penetration. The priestess flinched the first time one of them touched it, but eventually ignored Hermione's efforts.

But Hermione was restless. She fidgeted as all three of them sat on the couch. Her biggest concern was whether or not their new houseguest was going to try and make a run for it or not. Ron gingerly placed a hand on her leg in an attempt to calm her down. "Why don't you do something to preoccupy your time? It can't be healthy for you or the child to be stressing over Kagome."

"You're right," she said sighing. "Well, since she will be staying with us for a while, I better prepare a room for her." Which meant she had to conjure a room for her. Luckily for them Hermione was perfect at almost any kind of magic. So manipulating space in the house to create an entirely new living area would probably be a breeze.

Harry and Ron sat silently with one another on the couch. It was strange to admit, but they hardly spent any time alone with one another, despite being best friends. Ever since Hermione announce her pregnancy, Ron's time had been preoccupied, with good reason of course. But because of it, they hadn't really gotten the chance to discuss his and Ginny's break up.

Unconsciously he started twiddling once again with the abandoned engagement ring in his pocket. Flipping it quickly between his fingers, he somehow felt comfort in the action. Ron glanced warily at him, as if he knew what Harry was doing. "It's okay you know," his best friend said.

"What's okay?" Harry asked, a little thrown off by Ron's sudden words.

Ron smiled meekly at him. "I'm not mad at you or anything… over Ginny that is. I mean…" he paused in his sentence, trying to gather his thoughts. "While I'm disappointed that it didn't work out between the two of you, I still think both of you deserve to be happy. Even if it isn't with each other."

Harry paused his fumbling with the ring. He stared shocked at the words that just came out of his best mate's mouth. Perhaps it was the whole being married or having a child thing, but somewhere in their time apart Ron had grown up. But the best part of his words was that Harry felt relieved. "Thanks," he murmured in reply. "I think I really needed to hear that."

"I know we're on a mission, but that doesn't mean you can't look out for yourself you know," Ron said throwing him a wink.

Harry grinned in response, feeling whatever tension he had been imagining melt away between the two of them. "If you're implying that I should ask Shippou out on a date, I'm not sure I'm ready to date another species just yet."

They both laughed. It felt as if they weren't even on a mission anymore, and finally just living normal lives. Well, as normal of lives two wizards could possibly have. Suddenly Ron sighed and stood up. "I should probably see how Hermione is doing. Knowing her, she is stressing over something stupid like what color the curtains should be."

Left alone in the living room, Harry decided to check in on how Kagome was doing. Walking over to the back door, he opened it and came face to face with her glowing barrier. She hadn't moved from her spot on the back porch since she sat there. The forlorn look on her face and slumped shoulders reflected her mood.

He gently placed a hand on the blockade. It didn't hurt at all, but he could feel the pure power radiating off of the shield. Somehow he also felt her loneliness in the mix. Placing his forehead against her barrier, he closed his eyes and leaned against it.

It was strange, but he slightly understood what she was going through. He still remembered people constantly doing things for his protection. At least he always had his friends by his side. Only now, despite Ron and Hermione being with him, he felt lonely. They had grown up and were moving on to the next phase in their life.

But what was he doing? Being paranoid that someone would always be after him? Worrying about whatever the next world crisis was going to be?

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when the support he was leaning on seemed to disappear as he fell through the barrier and on to the porch. His face hit the pavement hard, and for once he was glad to have contacts in instead of glasses. Groaning, he looked up and met Kagome's eyes, a small smirk on her face. "You know I'm starting to think you just enjoy making me fall down," he said as he dusted himself off.

Her smirk widened to that of a grin. "Making people plummet face first into the ground usually makes me feel better."

"I'll keep that in mind," he mumbled. Slowly he scooted over to sit closer to her on the edge of the porch. "So do you face plant people often?"

"You're only the second," she said quickly. Then her eyes softened as she sighed and gazed off into the distance, not really staring at anything.

"What happened to the first one? You didn't plunge them so far into the ground that they died did you?" He joked, nudging her playfully in the side.

"It took a lot more than my face plants to take him down," she responded. "Although one time I got him really good when he was carrying a boulder the size of a car!" She spread her arms out as wide as she possibly could, attempting to demonstrate the size. "He was trying to block my way with it and I got him so good! He fell down and the boulder crashed on his back. He couldn't move for three days."

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she spoke. Harry had never seen her so happy and was determined to keep her talking. The better her mood while she stayed here, the better for all of them. "This guy must have been strong. I would have snapped in half had a boulder that size landed on me."

"Inuyasha's the strongest!" She exclaimed, finally giving this mystery man a name. "One time while we were fighting Sesshie, he put his entire claw right through Inuyasha's stomach! But Inuyasha still managed to rip his arm off again!"

Ignoring the fact that Kagome's idol had somehow managed to rip the arm off of the demon lord that had easily put him in his place not once, but multiple times, Harry decided to focus on the fact that she had given said demon lord a pet name. "Sesshie? Did you really just call him that?"

Kagome immediately blushed and started twiddling with the lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. "Don't tell him I called him that," she stated winking at him. "He only gets upset if I call him anything but Lord Seshoumaru around other people."

Harry chuckled, wondering what other nicknames she might have for the man that he didn't know about. "So when do I get to meet this Inuyasha fellow you adore so much?"

She suddenly turned her head to the ground and slumped her shoulders. The pained look in her eyes broke his heart, and he was certain that tears threatened to fall from them. The complete one-eighty shift in her attitude made him regret asking the question. Finally she mumbled, "He died."

Her voice was shaky and her body slightly trembled as if remembering something absolutely terrible. Harry did what felt natural and carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Whimpering, she tangled her fingers into his shirt and buried her face into his chest.

For the second time since they'd met, he let her cry on him. He brought his other hand around her and stroked her soft hair as his shirt soaked up the warm tears that fell from her eyes. He chose not to say anything, afraid to speak the wrong words, to provide false hope by promising that everything would be okay.

Because truthfully, he didn't know what was going to happen.

He wasn't sure how long they had been sitting on the porch together. But the sun had set and the moon shone brightly in the sky. Kagome's breathing had evened out and he was certain that she had fallen asleep. Sighing, he carefully scooped her into his arms and took her inside, the barrier instantly falling as he carried her through it.

Hermione and Ron had been watching them from the window, but quickly acted as if they had been minding their own business the entire time. Rolling his eyes, he asked Hermione to lead him to her new room. But as he approached the bed, he was hesitant to put her down. Even in her sleep she softly wept, and he was afraid of her waking up alone in the house.

However, he knew that she would kill him if she didn't get enough sleep. And he wasn't sure that his arms were the most comfortable place to sleep. He also knew that there was no way she would let them miss school again tomorrow. Reluctantly he placed her under the sheets and gently tucked her in.

As he walked out, his best friends stood eavesdropping once again in the doorway. Caught off guard, the two quickly scurried into their room. Harry ran his hand through his hair and decided to take a shower not only to freshen up, but to clear his mind as well.

The hot water was soothing and was very relaxing. He still remembered when they were on the run in their final year at Hogwarts searching for horcruxes and didn't have any real way to freshen up. So showers and baths were an absolute blessing to him now. He especially loved using the time to think.

And he had a lot on his mind.

For one, he was worried about what would happen next. Now that they had finally been attacked by a surviving Death Eater, his suspicions had been confirmed about the possibility of others being out there and after him. But they weren't after him this time. They were after Snape's daughter.

And Kagome was an entirely different puzzle that needed working on. He was happy that she was finally revealing more and more information about herself, even if it is in small increments. But every time he felt a little closer to her, something would screw up their conversation, and this time it was his fault.

Turning off the water, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Not even bothering with this hair or getting dressed, he plopped down on the bed still wrapped in his towel and still lost in thought.

He was truly curious about who this Inuyasha fellow was. Based on the stories she told, he assumed that this guy was a demon as well. And based on her reaction to mentioning his death, Inuyasha was more than just another demon. The real question is: what exactly was this man to Kagome?

And more importantly, why did this deceased hero have him feeling so… jealous?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Unfortunately, Harry woke up in the middle of the night when he felt something move under his arm. He was lying on his left side and thought he was hugging a pillow. But when he tried to move his left arm, he found that it was trapped in place. There goes the pillow theory.

He slowly opened his eyes, waiting for his contacts to realign with his eyes. Hermione would surely yell at him if she found out he was sleeping in them. Once he was able to see and his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he was pleasantly surprised to find his body wrapped around the small frame of Kagome Higurashi.

_What the…_

Questions ran through Harry's head. What was she doing in his room, let alone in his bed? Was he in the right room? A quick glance around told him he was. Had she just happened to wander in confused? Or had something forced her out of her own dwelling and into his?

Was this even Kagome?

Perhaps it was another trick by her supposed 'son' Shippou. He wouldn't be surprised if it was, but after the mental state he left his 'mother' in, surely he wouldn't be snuggling with him but with her instead. So this girl clad merely in a tank and underwear simply had to be Kagome.

His thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly shifted in her sleep, rubbing up against his manhood. He held his breath at the sudden jet of ecstasy flowed through him. It had been over a month since his last encounter with Ginny and with their constant love making before hand due to her baby envy, Harry not had quite a bit of sexual frustration built up. To make matters worse he was still only wearing a towel.

He buried his nose in her dark hair and inhaled her intoxicating scent. It was slightly damp and smelled freshly washed indicating that had she snuck into the shower once the Golden Trio had gone to bed. Despite his brain's protest, his right hand hovered over her side until he hesitantly touched the tip of his fingers to her stomach. He slowly traced them up to the bottom of her breasts and back down to the rim of her panties, not daring to go any further.

 _Stop_ , his mind screamed at him. The mission had to take priority over his sexual desires. And this is Snape's daughter. The potions professor was no doubt glaring at him and hexing him from beyond the grave.

Kagome suddenly rolled over so that she was facing the boy-who-lived. She was still asleep, softly breathing in and out. As he attempted to shift his arm out from underneath her, she curled into his arms and snuggled into his chest mumbling, "…don't go… just a little longer… Inu…yasha…"

Sighing, he wrapped his arms around her. He felt slightly jealous over the deceased hero. Kagome and this fellow were clearly more than friends, however he refused to assume that they must have been lovers. But just for one night, Harry decided to let Kagome keep her dream and held her close as she rested peacefully.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep again, but he was abruptly woken up by the sound of Hermione banging on the door. "Harry! You're going to be late if you don't get up!"

Harry's eyes shot open and went to focus on the girl he fell asleep with the night before. However, Kagome was nowhere to be found but instead found he was cuddling with a pillow after all. Propping himself up he ran a hand through his hair in confusion. He could remember her scent, her soft skin, and her warm breath on his chest as she breathed…

Had it been a dream after all?

Getting up he quickly got ready and went into the living room where Hermione was standing with his school bag. He took the bag and slung it over his shoulder while she hurriedly started buttoning up his school jacket. He glanced around the room noticing that his classmate was not present. "Where's Kagome?"

"She took off ages ago," Hermione stated as she successfully pushed the last button through the small hole at the top of his jacket. "She said she likes to get to school early."

"And you didn't stop her?" Harry was getting irritated. "We're supposed to be keeping an eye on her."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to be so protective. You guys can't suddenly start walking to school together. It's too obvious."

"Well I could still follow closely behind her," Harry stated. After the recent Death Eater attack, he wasn't ready to allow for anymore opportunities to just pop up. Gripping the strap of his bag he took off out the door without saying another word to Hermione.

Harry was one of the last students to arrive in the classroom. Kagome was in her usual position of staring out the window. "Good morning," he said half-heartedly, knowing that she wouldn't bother to respond. However he was surprised to see a slight blush develop on her cheeks as she 'ignored' him.

Perhaps it wasn't a dream.

Harry fought back a smile. He wouldn't mind if she made a habit of sneaking into his room at night for company. Should he confront her about why she needed the company? Or should he wait and let her come clean to him? No pun intended of course.

"Feeling better Potter-san?" Hojo asked as he sat down behind him.

Blinking in confusion, Harry managed to mumble out, "What?"

Hojo looked at him curiously. "Well, you weren't in class yesterday and I know you went home early Monday. You must have pushed yourself to hard on Tuesday and got sick again." The boy started rummaging in his bag when he pulled out two small packages and handed one to Harry. "It's therapeutic bath crystals. They're supposed to help you feel better."

"Thanks," Harry muttered. He felt bad accepting the gift when he wasn't actually sick at all. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Nonsense," Hojo stated with a huge smile. "My parents own a small pharmacy and get this stuff in all the time." His gaze suddenly shifted toward Kagome who was continuing to stare out the window pretending not to listen. "I got one for you too Higurashi-san since you weren't here yesterday either."

Kagome turned toward Hojo and quickly accepted the gift from him, mumbling out an exhaustive word of gratitude, like she was used to it. As she placed the box in her own bag, both boys watched her carefully. When Harry's eyes locked with her sapphire ones for a brief moment, her face turned red in embarrassment.

Definitely wasn't a dream.

Harry sniggered. "You're face is awfully red, Higurashi-san," he stated feigning concern. "I hope you don't have a fever still."

"You shouldn't force yourself," Hojo said, his face etched with worry. "If you'd like I can escort you home after school."

Kagome sighed and quickly stood up from her desk annoyed. "I'm fine. If it so pleases you worry-warts, I'm going to go freshen up in the bathroom before class starts."

Hojo smiled as the girl he was obviously pining over. His eyes followed her sashaying skirt as she walked through the door. Harry couldn't blame him though. After the experience he had last night, Harry knew the beauty that lived beneath that green mini-skirt and wouldn't hesitate in obtaining a second glance.

But that could wait for now. Glancing at the clock, he decided that he should probably follow Kagome's lead and do his own business before class starts since he rushed out of the house so quickly. Pardoning himself from Hojo's presence, he made his way out the door and into the hallway. It was empty for the most part, as students had already gone to their homerooms, however three girls he was certain are in his class chatted with one another walking the width of the hallway.

"Pardon me ladies," Harry stated with a smile on his face. However, the girl in the middle with the shortest hair murmured something to the two girls accompanying her. The two glanced warily at one another but continued to stand in a line. The short-haired leader stared fiercely at him. "Is something wrong," he asked looking between the three.

The leader of the three snorted toward him. "Nothing's wrong Potter-san."

"Harry," he interjected quickly. "And who all might you lovely ladies be?"

"Eri," she responded curtly. "And this is Yuka and Ayumi," she stated indicating the girls on each side.

"Well then, if nothing is wrong I think it would be brilliant if I could continue on my way," he started and took a step forward. Eri also took a step forward almost as if she were challenging him. Harry furrowed his brow, trying to figure out why these random girls, who he literally just met wouldn't let him simply walk down the hall. "What is your issue with me?"

"I saw you," she stated completely ignoring his question.

Harry blinked a couple times. He was certain that he hadn't slipped up in public in anyway, or at least with his magic. Kagome would probably disagree based on how often she yells at him for trying to talk to her in public. But hell, he hadn't even left the house yesterday. "I'm sorry, you  _saw_  me?"

"I saw you talking with Kagome in the park Monday  _and_ you walked her back to her shrine." Eri continued to stare at him, waiting for some sort of explanation. Yuka and Ayumi looked at him too, interested to hear what he would have to say.

Surely he could hear Miss Higurashi screaming 'I told you so' at him. Harry thought back to that evening and almost grinned knowing that was the only time she ever approached him. So it isn't his fault after all! "I didn't realize talking to classmates was such a big deal. Is that a Japanese thing? Because back in Europe we converse freely with whom ever we want."

Eri frowned clearly not liking his response. "And what about walking her home?"

"I was always taught it was rude to let a lady walk home alone in the dark. You could call it chivalry," he responded trying not to give anything away.

"Eri," Ayumi meekly started behind her. "He's new remember? He doesn't know anything and was just being a gentleman."

"Oh yeah? Well what about the fact that you both weren't at school yesterday?" Eri smiled triumphantly at him. He would have to ask Kagome what the deal with this girl is when he gets a chance.

"My older sister is pregnant. Since we just moved here, she needed to find a new doctor and wanted some company while her husband was working." Hermione would certainly be impressed at how easily he was coming up with all of this, especially since she always talks about how much of a bad liar he is.

"What is going on?" An angry and confused Kagome's voice sounded behind the three girls that were blocking the hall. Apparently she was coming back from the washroom to the classroom when she saw the blockade. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi moved to one side of the hall together, revealing Harry to her. He could have swore he could hear Kagome yelling at him in his head and screaming, ' _What the hell did you do?!_ '

"I'm being interrogated," Harry supplied the answer for the three girls. "Apparently it is a crime that we ran into each other at the park."

"But Kagome never talks to anyone," Eri shouted angrily and hurt, staring at the mentioned classmate who had decided to glare angrily at the floor instead of all of them. "Why would she talk to  _you_ , when she won't talk to us?"

Harry didn't give Kagome a chance to respond. He allowed himself to be cornered like this, so he would put everything on him. "If you ladies  _must_  know," he started, regaining the attention of the other girls as well as his mission's. "I was feeling pretty depressed and Miss Higurashi here caught me at a dark moment. She helped me through it." He sent her a soft smile. At his response she slowly looked up toward him and returned the smile.

"Eri," Ayumi said softly. "You know Kagome has always been like that. No matter what's happened she is there to comfort anyone. Even a stranger."

"Yeah well, that doesn't mean she should completely ignore her best friends!" Eri clenched her fists at her side and the hint of betrayal reflected in her eyes. "Ever since she got back to school and that Inu-idiot she called a boyfriend dumped her, she hasn't spared anyone the time of day!"

Harry's eyes immediately went back to Kagome knowing that Eri's words would have struck a chord with her. "What do you know Eri?" Kagome seethed out. "What did you know about Inuyasha? All you did was bad mouth him and you never even met!"

"He was a two-timing jerk!" Eri yelled back. "You said so yourself! You were too good for him!"

"We had moved past everything!" Although she was yelling, tears threatened to spill from Kagome's eyes. "He was my fiancé!"

Suddenly the warning bell rang, announcing that class would be starting in two minutes. Quickly wiping her eyes, the priestess stomped passed the four of them to the classroom. Harry glanced at the three girls that were unsure on how to proceed from there. Ayumi sent him an apologetic look and said, "Sorry we detained you Harry."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Er, it's no problem." Even though it was. Now he would have to get an earful at lunch or after school from the fuming girl he was about to go sit next to in class. "But for the record," he started as he walked back to the room. "Miss Higurashi did confide him me that her fiancé did not dump her, but in fact passed away."

He left the three girls wide-eyed and shocked in the hallway while he made his back to where he belonged: next to the girl he was supposed to be protecting.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I’m back from Italy!!! It was amazing! Everyone should go if they get a chance! Thanks for the follows and reviews everyone! I really appreciate you all reading this!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the story line or characters from the Inuyasha or Harry Potter series. They belong to their owners Rumiko Takahashi and JK Rowling.

**Chapter 18**

The first half of the school day was absolutely dreadful. 

After their encounter with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi in the hall before class started, Harry had to painfully watch as Kagome suffered in her seat.  He was certain he heard soft sobs during the lecture, but her bangs kept her eyes hidden from sight.  The teacher occasionally sent glances in her direction, but chose not to bring whatever was bothering the girl up in the middle of class.  The three interrogators sat slumped in their seats, no doubt regretting what transpired in the hall. 

When the bell finally rang for lunch, Kagome rushed out of the door and Harry didn’t hesitate to take after her.  To anyone else watching, it would probably appear as if the pair was extremely hungry and eager to get food.  However, Harry knew those three girls were watching their actions closely.  No doubt Hojo held his own curiosities. 

But Harry didn’t care. 

Kagome Higurashi was his number one priority and would stay that way for however long it needed to.  She was hurting and he would be there for her.  Slowly she was opening up to him.  He would never push her away or appear standoffish from her problems.  However, he would not force her to say anything she would not want to.  As much as he hated waiting, for now he had to simply be a shoulder to cry on. 

Harry was always surprised at how quickly and easily she was able to dart in between people in the hall.  Especially since it seemed as if she wasn’t even watching where she was going, merely maneuvering in and out of the other students.  But as usual he never lost sight of her, despite the fact that he knew she was going to the roof like always.  

The sun temporarily blinded him as he opened the door to the rooftop, but his eyes were quick to readjust.  His emerald eyes met with hr sapphire ones that were brimming with tears.  Opening his arms to her, she didn’t hesitate to fall into them and bury her face into his chest letting out loud sobs.  He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close to him. 

Now he knew the story of who Inuyasha was to Kagome.  Harry wasn’t sure how the man died, but he was Kagome’s fiancé, which meant the two were very much in love with one another.  Harry had lost many loved ones in the Second Wizarding War.  It still pained him to think of all the casualties:  Tonks, Lupin, Dumbledore, his godfather Sirius, Kagome’s father Snape… Even George hadn’t recovered from his twin’s death.  Harry had heard that he was dating their old Quidditch partner Angelina Johnson.  But the twin went as far as keeping his brother’s hand from the Weasley clock that informed other family members of their whereabouts on him at all time as necklace. 

Harry was brought out of his memories from the Battle of Hogwarts when Kagome went to dry her eyes and gently pulled away from him.  “You must think I’m the biggest cry baby in the world,” she whispered softly while wiping her face dry with the back of her hand. 

“I think that you’re still grieving over the loss of your fiancé,” he responded smiling down at her.  She smiled back at him weakly and nodded.  “But you know,” he continued, “I think your friends just want you back.  Sometimes sharing your pain makes you feel better.”  Harry thought back to all the times he tried to push Ron and Hermione away, but in the end they were the ones he needed by his side. 

“They wouldn’t understand,” she said sadly, pulling out of his arms.  She wrapped her arms around herself in a comforting manner and took a deep breath.  “It’s more than just losing a fiancé.  I lost an entire chapter of my life and I can’t even share any of it with anyone because it’s so outlandish.” 

“More outlandish than a wizard trying to attend a school for muggles?”  Kagome blinked a few times after his comment before bursting into a fit of laughter.  “What’s so funny?”  He asked. 

She struggled for a moment to get her laughing under control before finally exclaiming, “Muggles!  Is that what you call us non-witches and wizards?  It sounds like something someone would name their dog.” 

Harry tried to hide a smile as she continued to laugh at her own joke.  He was thankful that her mood had completely turned around.  Hermione would have been so upset if Kagome had gone home depressed. 

“Um… excuse us,” a timid voice sounded from the doorway.  Both Harry and Kagome looked over surprised to see Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi standing there and fidgeting awkwardly.  “Sorry to interrupt…” Ayumi said softly. 

Harry glanced over at Kagome.  Both of them no doubt wondering how long the three girls had been standing there.  Neither of them had noticed the door open to the roof and neither of them was sure how much the girls had heard. 

For a few moments it was awkwardly silent.  Harry, not wanting to say anything wrong or that Kagome would disapprove of, chose not to say anything.  But the three guests were unsure of how to continue their interruption and did not say a word either.  This left a frustrated priestess to finally ask sarcastically, “Did you come to make more assumptions?” 

“Kagome, I’m sorry,” Eri said immediately.  Guilt was all over the girl’s face as she sincerely locked eyes with her ex-best friend.  “When you were sick, the only person that you ever saw was Inuyasha and when you came back you wouldn’t talk to anyone.  I took it too personally and resorted to anger rather than talking to you.  We all miss you…” Yuka and Ayumi nodded their heads in agreement exclaiming their own apologies.  “Can you ever forgive us?” 

Harry watched as a flood of emotions overcame Kagome.  He knew the girl was stubborn, and didn’t really want to deal with the three girls.  If she had it her way, she would be more than happy with contently continuing her secluded lifestyle at school (minus his lunch time interruptions of course).  But he slowly watched as the firm fire in her eyes softened into empathy, and she sighed softly.  

“I could never stay mad at you guys,” she mumbled, just loudly enough for the girls to hear her.  “Before my life got turned upside down, you were all I had.  I should have never shut you out when I came back.” 

The three girls’ faces lit up with her words.  By the time she was done speaking, they were all huddled together in a group hug and Harry felt awkwardly out of place.  He was happy that they had all made up, but silently wondered what that meant for him now. 

“We want you to stay and eat with us in the class room from now on,” Ayumi said once they all pulled away.  “So we can catch up and be best friends again.” 

Kagome nodded.  “Only if Harry can come with us.  I’m kind of the only friend he’s made here so far.” 

“Hey!” Harry said defensively.  Technically he was nothing more than a bodyguard, but it was nice of her to refer to him as a friend to her real ones. 

As the group descended the stairs to the roof, he followed closely behind trailing their way back to the classroom.  The warning bell rang as they sat in their seats.  Hojo turned around to face the two, his eyes immediately shifting toward Kagome.  “You seem in a better mood than earlier.” 

Kagome flashed him a brilliant smile, one that Harry himself had only seen once before that evening in the park.  The same evening that she was struck by the killing curse in front of her own home.  “I’m in a much better mood Hojo, thanks!” 

The instructor hurriedly came into the room when the final bell rang, ushering the students to keep quiet as he administered a pop quiz.  Harry frowned at the paper that was placed in front of him, staring at the all the formulas, letters, and numbers.  He hadn’t studied mathematics since he was in elementary school.  Before Hogwarts and his life as “the boy-who-lived.” 

Whenever he had any homework assignments, Hermione merely took it for the evening and placed it back in his bag before leaving for school.  He never questioned how she got it done since she was a bloody genius at everything.  However, he had failed to realize that there would be examinations during school hours itself.  Everything in front of him looked like another language to him and not even his translator pendant could help him. 

After staring at it for a few more minutes, he did his best to suffer through the blasted quiz and simply wrote down numbers.  He really didn’t care what kind of grades he was making anyway.  His job as an Auror was to protect Kagome, not pass muggle high school.  

When he was satisfied with his terrible answers, he glanced over at Miss Higurashi and watched as she steadily filled in her own answers.  Her brow furrowed in frustration, as she would slowly work through each problem, occasionally putting her eraser to work and starting over on that particular equation.  And when she would suddenly figure out the answer, her eyes would light up in excitement as she quickly scribbled down the solution.  

It would seem that when she wasn’t busy acting antisocial, that she was actually quite expressive.  When she completed her own quiz, she took a glance around to see if she was the last one to finish.  Harry continued to watch her, and as her eyes finally made to his own, she blushed.  Despite her embarrassment, she put a thumb up indicating she did well on the quiz and went on to slowly mouth “I hate math” to him. 

“Time’s up!”  The math instructor exclaimed.  “Please pass your papers to the front of each row and I will collect them.” 

The students did as they were told, and smoothly made it through the rest of the day.  Harry was patiently waiting in their final homeroom for the day when the teacher suddenly called for him to come see him at the front of the classroom.  Most of the students lowered their voices and feigned disinterest in this sudden development.  But seeing as Harry was used to this sort of thing thanks to being the boy-who-lived at Hogwarts, he chose to ignore it. 

“Yes sir?” Harry asked, curious as to why he was being called up.  Maybe the grade already came back on that quiz and he failed it.  Flunking out of Muggle school did not bode well for the mission.  Perhaps he could convince Kagome to leave school and stay at the safe house with him.  That would be nice.

 “It seems you’ve yet to choose a club,” he said handing him a piece of paper listing all the options available at the school. 

“With all due respect, I don’t think I will have much time for clubs, sir,” Harry responded glancing at the list, while struggling to find the right excuse.  “I have a very busy home life.” 

“Well then it looks like you will need to find time, because all students are required to join at least one club at the school,” he said with an amused smile.  “We have a diverse student body and I’m certain you will find something of interest.” 

Harry frowned at the list as the bell rang for dismissal.  Most of the students took their time in packing their belongings, interested to see what club he would join.  Furrowing his brow, he inspected each club that the school had to offer.  Back at Hogwarts he had Quidditch every year except his last.  Then there was dueling and Dumbledore’s Army, if that counted as a club since it only lasted a year. 

He had Hermione for smarts and strategy, while Ron would always be there for back up.  The only obstacle Harry really had in front of him was battling demons.  Sesshoumaru had taunted him, calling his magic silly and even dared him to hit the demon lord with his best spell.  It left him wondering how effective magic really was against demons as a whole.  

Acting and music definitely weren’t a part of Harry’s list of choice after school activities.  He also didn’t want to be a part of anything too involved like newspaper and broadcast.  Educational after school activities were a no since he clearly knew nothing of Muggle school subjects and steering clear of any sort of paranormal club was probably for the best.  

Leaving him with a sporting event.  He didn’t need anything competitive like soccer or baseball.  His only competition was whoever was after Kagome.  Fencing or martial arts could be beneficial in case another battle was upon them (and assuming his theory on Kagome’s demon friends being immune to magic was true).  He couldn’t help but wonder what club the priestess was in. 

Harry glanced over his shoulder in Kagome’s direction, where she blatantly ignored him and made her way to leave the room.  However, a set of waving hands at the front of the classroom did catch his attention.  One of Kagome’s other friends, if he recalled correctly her name was Ayumi, had drawn a picture of an arrow on a scrap piece of paper and was excitedly pointing at it.  Silently thanking her for the hint, he sent her a smile before turning back to the list.  His eyes scanned it once more before he found the club he was looking for.  It should have been so obvious to him before with her former Saturday morning routine at the Sunset Shrine that he had witnessed. 

“Well, professor, I think I’m going to give archery a shot,” Harry stated loudly handing back the paper.  He turned around just in time see Kagome trip over someone else’s bag on her way out the door and quickly scurry out of the room in embarrassment.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks for reading! Again, sorry for the delay. I got a new job and that took priority! Don’t be too upset! I’ve already started the next chapter…
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the story line or characters from the Inuyasha or Harry Potter series. They belong to their owners Rumiko Takahashi and JK Rowling.

**Chapter 19**

As it turned out, archery took place Tuesdays and Thursdays after school let out.  Which meant that he needed to go to practice that same day.  After the instructor pointed out where he needed to go to find practice range, Harry trudged along the school grounds before reaching his destination in the back of the campus.    
  
  
Upon his arrival to the archery range, he found it occupied by a few younger females.  It was a secluded area and very quiet, no doubt to allow for the archers’ concentration.  They all stood on a porch like area, shooting their arrows across a small field where targets rested about seventy meters away.  A small wooden building connected to the porch that the archers shot from.  He assumed it was like a locker or changing room for them to use and place their belongings. 

 

None of the girls notching their arrows paid attention to him as he walked toward the area, and so none of them witnessed a small feminine hand pulling him behind the wooden building and out of sight.  His eyes met with the frustrated blue ones of his favorite little priestess.

 

“Why, hello Kagome, are you in the archery club too?  I had no idea…” Harry stated, feigning surprise. 

 

Her unfaltering glare let him know that she was not amused.  “Save it, wizard.  I already have to live with you _and_ deal with you following me around school.  Why do you have to follow me to the one place I can be at peace now that I’m not allowed home?”

 

“I’m more than positive you already know the answer to that question,” he responded nonchalantly.  He watched her furrow her brow and let out an exaggerated groan of annoyance.  As she tried to angrily stomp away from him, he naturally reached out for her hand, forcing her to turn stop and turn to face him.  “Tell me something,” he started smoothly, “What is so awful about someone dedicating their life to protecting you?”

 

A faint blush dusted the girl’s cheeks as he released her hand.  They stood in silence for a brief moment, only hearing the soft thuds of the arrows meeting the targets in the background.  Finally, she turned away from him once again and muttered, “Your uniform is in the men’s changing room.”  Without another word she disappeared around the corner into the women’s changing room. 

 

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, no doubt making it even messier than it already was before.  But he decided it would be best to quickly change without making Kagome more upset.  Walking into the changing room, he noticed that it looked unused for the most part.  Apparently not too many boys were a part of this archery club.  Setting down his backpack, he glanced at the clothes resting on the wooden bench.  The outfit was much like the one Kagome wore last Saturday when they visited her shrine during her own archery classes the only difference being that this uniform was black and white, while hers was white and red. 

 

He easily removed his own clothing, save for his boxers, and attempted to put on the uniform.  The shirt was short sleeved but very large and was supposed to overlap similar to a robe.  However, the shirt didn’t have its own belt or tie, and was supposed to be held together by the tied trousers.  The trousers were also fairly large, but extremely comfortable.  The only issue was that no matter how he stared at it all, he had no idea how it was supposed to fit together.  To make things worse, there was a thick, cloth belt thrown into the mix.  He tried to simply use the belt to hold it all together, but he didn’t have enough hands to make sure everything stayed in place.  When he tried for the tenth time to make it all work, Harry was certain he had it all figured out.

 

Suddenly, the door to the changing room slammed open causing Harry to lose his concentration and drop the belt and trousers to the floor as well as leaving shirt hanging open, exposing his chest.  “What is taking you so long?”  Kagome’s frustrated voice echoed throughout the changing room.  She was already dressed in her white and black archery uniform.  When her eyes finally examined the half naked state Harry was in, her face immediately turned red and she turned to walk back out. 

 

“Wait!”  He called after her, and attempted to take a step forward.  But this merely resulted in his tripping on the baggy black pants that were around his feet, and causing him to fall face first to the hard ground. 

 

Kagome tried not to laugh, but when he looked up at her from lying on the floor, she immediately burst into a fit of giggles.  He felt his own face heat up in embarrassment, and he slowly picked himself off the ground.  “What happened?”  She finally managed to ask while attempting to breathe. 

 

“I can’t figure out how to put this bloody uniform on,” he muttered while quickly pulling up the black trousers. 

 

Still trying not to laugh, she walked over to him and closed his shirt.  “Hold up your hakama,” she instructed, indicating the pants.  Doing as he was told, she quickly and carefully tied them around his waist.  As she wrapped the large belt around him, he sat there and watched her tie it into an ornate knot with her small hands.

 

When she finished she looked him up and down and nodded her head in approval.  Harry looked down at the unusual outfit he had on.  Looking back up at her, he grinned and said, “We match!” 

 

“Of course we do,” she responded.  “This is the archery uniform.  You will match the other girls outside too.”  Turning on her heels she walked out the door, beckoning for him to follow her.  As he stepped out and onto the shooting range, all eyes from the other archers immediately turned to him. 

 

“Er, hello,” he said with a small wave. 

 

The other girls immediately blushed at his accent and started to whisper amongst themselves.  He noticed Kagome roll her eyes at their antics.  “Everyone, this is Harry Potter.  He is our newest club member.”  After a brief introduction of the other girls, she handed him a long bow and a quiver of arrows.  “All right Harry, you wanted to be in archery so bad, let’s see what you can do.”

 

Harry immediately took the items from her and faced a target.  He managed to use Godric Gryffindor’s sword pretty okay on his own.  And he managed to take down a murderous dark wizard hell bent on taking over the world.  How hard could shooting a bow be?    

 

He pulled an arrow out of the quiver and notched it with the bow.  So far so good.  Next, he grasped the string of the bow with his fist and pulled it back.  The string was a little harder to pull on then he thought it would be, but he managed it nonetheless.  Closing one eye, he squinted the other and lined the arrow up with where the center of the target was.  However, as he released the bow the back of the arrow fell downward to the ground and the string snapped against his other arm.  “Bloody Hell,” he exclaimed as he instinctively dropped the bow and rubbed his arm where the string struck it. 

 

Giggling girls brought his attention back to his surroundings.  Kagome wore a victorious smirk on her face as she stepped forward and picked up the abandoned bow.  With no effort, she notched an arrow and sent it flying towards the target, nailing the bull’s-eye.

 

Cheering erupted from the other girls.  “Kagome-senpai is the greatest!”  The youngest member exclaimed.  The other girls nodded their heads in agreement before continuing on with their own practice. 

 

With everyone focused on their own archery, Harry made his way to the furthest target after grabbing the bow back from Kagome.  This time he notched the arrow successfully after watching her performance, but it merely travelled a couple feet in the air and plummeted to the grass once he revealed it.

 

Harry heard scoffing behind him, and wasn’t surprised to find Kagome watching his presentation.  “What’s wrong, wizard?”  She mocked him quietly to make sure no one else could hear her.  “Or did that little magic school of yours not teach you any real means of defending yourself?”

 

Harry did not appreciate her mocking Hogwarts, especially since it was the only home he every really had, which is why he worked so hard to protect it.  He grit his teeth at her words and managed to seethe out, “Well luckily for me, you’re the only one immune to magic.  You don’t plan on killing me do you?” 

 

“Not at the moment, no,” she said cutely and slowly stepped toward him.  When she was close enough to him, she stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, “But you’re delusional if you think I’m the only one out there immune to magic.”

 

Harry widened his eyes at her comment.  He wanted to press her for an explanation, but she was already walking away from him, eager to help the other girls that needed guidance with their shooting.  Frustrated, he picked up his bow again and continuously tried to shoot his arrows towards the target. 

 

Finally, he managed to hit the target, even if it was on the very rim.  Excited, he looked up to brag about his achievement, but found the range empty.  Apparently he had lost track of time while venting his frustrations with the bow.  Even the sun was setting on the horizon behind school. 

 

Sighing, he walked into the locker room and quickly changed back into his school uniform.  He should have figured that Kagome would ditch him given the chance.  She was always eager to be alone, insisting that she can protect herself.  As he glanced back towards the archery range on his way off of the school grounds, he couldn’t help but wonder if she needed protected at all. 

 

So far, she had been the one saving them.  When Lestrange attacked, Kagome was the one that leapt in front of the killing curse without giving it a thought.  She had saved Hermione as well as her child.  She was even friends with a powerful demon lord and was also somehow the mother of another one.  Sure she didn’t know magic, but she knew how to defend herself. 

 

Approaching the front door, it opened as he went to reach for the handle.  Hermione stood in the frame, blinking in surprise at his arrival there.  “Kagome, was right,” the witch called into the house surprised, “Harry is here!”

 

Harry dropped his bag on the floor and against the wall as he walked into the house.  Wonderful aromas filled the air, and he realized that he was actually quite famished.  Ron sat at the dining room table quickly stuffing his mouth directly from the serving bowl, but still managed to offer a greeting.  Kagome on the other hand, ignored his arrival, simply eating the contents of her bowl. 

 

“Where have you been, Harry?” Hermione questioned as she shut the door.  “When Kagome made it back without you we started to worry.  Not to mention the fact that you’re supposed to be protecting this poor girl.”

 

“Yeah, mate,” Ron managed to put down his fork and sit back in his chair for a moment.  “You shouldn’t let a lady walk home alone.”

 

Harry rolled his eyes in response and walked past the dining room into the living room.  He was already feeling bad enough about not really being needed to have the nerve to listen to his best mates reprimand him.  So instead, he merely slumped down on the couch in a petulant fashion.

 

Soft footsteps on the floor alerted him of unwanted company approaching.  When he saw that it was actually Kagome, hands innocently behind her back, he let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from her.  “Seriously?”  Her voice was aggravated, but for once he didn’t care.  “You’re just going to sit in here and pout?”

 

“I thought you wanted me to leave you alone,” he responded, letting his inner smartass out.  “Isn’t that why you’re always so eager to ditch me?”

 

She let out an unladylike snort and stomped off to her bedroom.  Apparently she didn’t appreciate his answer.  When he turned back around, he noticed a plate of food on the side table.  He hadn’t heard her place it there while his head was turned.  Shaking his head, he picked up the plate and gladly ate its contents.  As he eagerly satisfied his grumbling stomach, the only thing he could think was:

 

Girls are so confusing.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks to the few of you that reviewed and have stuck around! I am sorry about the slow updates!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the story line or characters from the Inuyasha or Harry Potter series. They belong to their owners Rumiko Takahashi and JK Rowling.

**Chapter 20**

Kagome didn't leave her room for the rest of the night.

 

Even while Harry and Ron practiced their dueling with one another in the back yard, not a peep was heard from their guest's room.  Hermione, frantic as always, continuously went to check on the girl.  But each visit always ended the same way: in silence.  The question did arise of course whether she was actually in the room or not.  But since Kagome was not a witch, she could not apparate from the house.  And since no one had seen her leave, there was no way she could have left.

 

Harry went to bed that night exhausted from the archery, the dueling, and Kagome's back and forth nature.  However, even though he was extremely tired, he found that he couldn't fall asleep.  So as he lay on his back, sprawled out and staring bored at the ceiling, he was slightly alarmed when his bedroom door suddenly clicked open.  Quickly shutting his eyes, he listened as soft footsteps made their way across the room and onto the other side of the bed.  After a moment’s hesitation, the bed on his left side dipped in, as if someone had started to sit on the edge.  Then, slowly they lay down right beside him, his arm supporting their neck as the faced away from him.

 

Peeking with one eye, Harry wasn't surprised to see Kagome nestled up on his bed.  This now made two nights in a row that the she had snuck into his room to try to sleep.  He hadn't gotten a chance to confront her about it yesterday but was determined to now after the back and forth attitude she portrayed throughout the day.  Carefully, he rolled over to face the same direction she was and wrapped his free arm around her waist.  She instantly froze at the additional contact and Harry couldn't help but smirk.

 

Leaning in gently, he whispered into her ear, "I find it interesting that even though you don't want my protection, this makes two nights in a row that you've snuck into my bedroom."  She instantly tried to pull away from him, but he was stronger and merely held her in place with his arms.  "I'm not sure about your traditions here, but back home it's very unbecoming of a lady to enter a man's bed chambers."

 

"Let me go," she said, as she continued to struggle against him.  But he pulled her even closer to him and stilled her arms. 

 

"But you just got here," he playfully whined.  "Besides, I think he deserve to know why you keep sneaking in here."

 

Kagome let out a groan.  "Because," she whispered barely loud enough for him to hear,  "I can't sleep by myself.  I have to sleep in the same room as other people."  Harry loosened his hold on her and she took the opportunity to turn over and face him but dropped her head low in embarrassment, not wanting to look him in the eyes.  "It sounds childish, but if I can't feel anyone else around me, I have nightmares."

 

"Have you always had a sleeping problem?"  He was nervous about pressing her for too much information, but needed to at least try.  She shook her head quickly and buried it into his shirt.  "Does it have to do with all the demons you hang around?"  She didn't say anything but merely gripped his shirt with her hands.  He sighed, and gently stroked her hair.   

 

After a few moments she finally said, "Tomorrow.  I will tell you tomorrow night."

 

Harry didn't bother to respond.  He merely let her do her best to finally get some sleep for the evening.  He hated the fact that this mission involved them attending a muggle high school, meaning Kagome was going to make sure she was able to attend her classes without a problem over telling him her history.  He definitely didn't miss school from when he went to Dudley's primary school.  Especially the days him and his gang wanted to try and beat him up.

Falling asleep wasn’t hard.  He was surprisingly comfortable even while holding a girl in his arms.  No doubt there was a potion’s master glaring at him in the after life for even touching her.  Despite the thought of that, he slept great.  By the time he woke up the next morning, she was gone.

 

Ruffling his own hair, he slowly got himself out of bed and dressed.  It was certainly going to be a long day today.  Thank goodness it was finally Friday, which is why he assumed she wanted to wait for tonight before disclosing more information about herself.  Perhaps she was going to spend the weekend finally delighting them with her own story as to how she got involved with demons.

 

But first he had to suffer through school.

 

Kagome actually allowed him to walk with her to school.  Perhaps it was because she had her friends again, and had invited him to be a part of their group.  The reason didn’t really matter to Harry, so long as he was able to be near her.  However, he constantly told himself that it was merely because of the mission, and not because he found her attractive.

 

Of course he knew that wasn’t entirely true. 

 

He didn’t pay a single bit of attention in class.  His mind preoccupied with the fact that he had only been in Japan a little over a week and it had been the most action packed week of his life since the final battle at Hogwarts only a couple of years ago.  He also found himself thinking less and less of Ginny, and more of the girl that currently sat next to him hurriedly scribbling down notes.

 

To be honest, he was surprised he had yet to be reprimanded by the teachers or administration here at the school.  Sure it had only been a week, but he was most definitely failing every quiz, examination and in class assignment that has been given thus far.  To make matters worse, Hermione had been doing all of the homework assignments, so he was positive that those were probably perfect.  This would surely leave the teachers baffled.

 

When lunchtime rolled around, the three girls insisted on Harry and Kagome eating lunch with them.  Hojo, who happened to be nearby, politely asked if he could join them as well.  So, pushing three desks face to face against three more desks (six in total now), Harry, Kagome, and Hojo sat on one side, while the three friends sat across from them.  Kagome blushed as she sat between the two boys, feeling like the center of attention. 

 

"I'm glad you've decided to eat in the classroom again, Higurashi-san," Hojo said happily opening his bento.  "I hope you're not pushing yourself too much though.  I don't want you to get sick again with such a weak immune system."

 

Kagome rolled her eyes.  "Thank you for your concern, but I promise I'm fine."

 

"Well, if you don't find it too presumptuous of me, perhaps we could meet outside of school sometime."  Hojo offered her a smile with his words.

 

Harry had forgotten that Hojo still harbored feelings for their mutual companion.  He had learned that on the first day he met Hojo.  The girls across from them seemed to be eating up the interaction between the two.  But Harry could tell Kagome seemed a bit frustrated and saddened at the same time.  He hated to be 'that guy' but he hated seeing her uncomfortable even more.  

 

"Perhaps the six of us could go out sometime.  I would love to see more of the area," Harry interjected.  

 

"That's a great idea, Harry-kun!"  Ayumi exclaimed.  "Why don't we all do something this weekend?"  

 

"Yeah!"  Yuka hurriedly agreed.  "I bet Harry hasn't been to the city yet!  We can give him a tour and grab some lunch!"

 

"What do you say, Kagome?" Eri asked excitedly.  

 

"Well," the girl in question started.  "If it's the six of us, I don't see why not."

 

Harry sat back and ate the lunch Hermione kindly made for him while the rest of the group finalized their plans for this weekend.  Hojo didn't seem too thrilled about his potential date turning into a group one, but Harry wasn't about to allow him to go on a one on one date with Kagome.  But Hojo didn't voice any opposition to the plans being made.  By the time lunch was over, they all agreed to meet in front of the metro Saturday around noon.

 

"Why did you have to suggest a group date?"  Kagome groaned out as they walked home after school.

 

"Well you hadn't answered Hojo's question and you seemed in trouble!  I am here to protect you after all."  Harry flashed her a princely smile.

 

She promptly responded to his answer by elbowing him sharply in the side, but desperately tried not to laugh.  "You can't keep using the whole protector thing as an excuse for everything!  Besides, you're not charming enough to be a hero."

 

Harry feigned a hurt expression.  "What's that supposed to mean?  I'll have you know that I helped save the entire Wizarding World from a man hell bent on destroying it."

 

"Sorry, I would have had to see it to believe it," she jokingly said before sticking her tongue out at him.  He playfully rolled his eyes at her response and the two continued home in silence.  When they reached the front door she paused at the entrance.  "I was thinking... I would like to tell all of you at the same time my story.  I know I've been an emotional train wreck, but you all have done everything for me and I'd like to be honest with you."

 

"You don't need to force yourself," Harry stated.  "If you're not ready, then --"

 

Kagome held up a hand to silence him.  "Shippou is right.  I need to face my past.  Clearly you guys are my future at the moment, so I think it's only fair that you know what all you're up against when it comes to my history."  

 

"Well, as long as you're comfortable..."

 

"I am.  Let Hermione and Ron know we can start after dinner."  And without saying another word she opened the door and walked into the house towards her room.

 

"Welcome home!"  Hermione greeted from the kitchen.  Harry sat down at the kitchen table, dropping his school bag to the ground next to him.  Hermione placed a hot cup of tea in front of him before taking the seat to his left.  “What’s up?  Long day at school?”

 

“It was a good day, actually,” he responded before blowing on the hot beverage and taking a sip.  “She wants to talk to us finally.  About her past.”

 

“That’s great!”  Hermione exclaimed.  Harry knew that Hermione already looked at Kagome as family since their encounter with Rodolphus Lestrange.  “She wants to tell all of us?”

 

Harry nodded.  “Yeah, after dinner.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a long story, so we should probably get comfortable then.”

 

“Don’t worry, I will take care of everything!”  Hermione hurriedly stood up and grabbed a phone.  “If we’re going to be up all night, I’m going to order pizza.  That way Ron can gorge himself all night if he needs to.”

 

Harry let out a chuckle as his companion excused herself from the room to place the order.  He waited patiently in the kitchen before Ron came stumbling in half asleep.  “Hey mate,” he started sleepily with a yawn.  He wasn’t even dressed, only wearing a baggy white shirt with pajama pants, and oddly enough a pair of sneakers.  “’Mione said I should go get the food from down the street.”

 

“Do you just sleep all day while I go to school?”  Harry asked with a raised brow.  “Because I have to say that this is completely unfair.”

 

“I have to look after my wife,” Ron retaliated.

 

“You must be an expert at sleep walking then,” Harry retorted sarcastically.  “How else could you defend the love of your life from bed?”

 

“Shuddup,” the red head muttered back, letting out one last yawn.  “I have to go pick up the pizza since we have that barrier around the house.”

 

“Dressed like that?”  Harry tried not to laugh, but Ron was so half asleep that the boy apparently didn’t care.  He merely shrugged and stepped out of the house.  He returned a little over thirty minutes later with four large pizzas in his hands. 

 

“Food’s here!”  Ron shouted from the doorway as he kicked off his shoes. 

 

“We’re coming!”  Hermione’s voice called from the back.  Within a few moments the two ladies appeared before them, completely dressed down.  Hermione had changed into pajama pants with a large shirt to cover her stomach.  Kagome on the other hand, had on some cotton white shorts and a blue tank top.  “I decided we could have a bit of a slumber party!”

 

Without saying another word, Hermione pulled out her wand and gave it a wave, mumbling a couple spells under her breath.  Suddenly, the entire living room shifted before their eyes.  The couch started to stretch and flatten out until Harry realized it was turning into a giant mattress that took up three fourths of the room.  The tables and lamps all shifted to the side and out of the way.  The curtains drew shut, blocking out the remaining sun light from entering into the room.  Large decorative pillows popped up across the mattress, along with a few large fuzzy blankets.

 

Kagome watched starry eyed as Hermione’s magic worked before them, completely entranced with what was going on before her.  Even the fire place was ignited for ambience at the very end of the spectacle.  Like a child, Kagome immediately ran and threw herself onto the giant mattress, giggling as she bounced higher than one normally would should they decide to lunge at their bed.  “Amazing,” she whispered.  “I had seen the dueling and the simple levitations, but THIS is awesome.”

 

Ron rolled his eyes as he grabbed a slice of pizza from the top box.  “Muggles are amused by the simplest spells.”

 

Hermione jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow while continuing to smile at Kagome, who was currently trying to enclose the mattress with a sheet and turn it into a fort.  They hadn’t seen her have this much fun since they had met the girl.  “Shut up Ron, your dad was fascinated with rubber ducks for a while, remember?”

 

Sensing the beginning of an argument brewing, Harry followed in Kagome’s footsteps by diving at the make shift fort.  “Hey!”  Kagome protested as he knocked over what little work she had accomplished.  Picking up the nearest pillow, she immediately threw it at his head.  “Bull’s eye!” She exclaimed as it hit him square in the face. 

 

She wasn’t cheering for long however, when he used his wand to charm the blankets into wrapping around her.  Kagome froze as the colorful fabric coiled itself around her, ensnaring her arms at her side.  When she was tightly bound before him, Harry softly pushed her over, causing her to land face first on their bed for the night.  “Give up?”

 

“Never!”  She cried out dramatically before trying to struggle against her restraints.  Harry watched amused, as she made absolutely no progress at freeing herself. 

 

“What in the world is going on?”  Ron asked, finally approaching the bed with his wife and pizzas. 

 

Harry grinned.  “There was a battle and I won, simple as that.”  He turned his attention back to the struggling girl.  “Do you surrender?”  He asked dramatically, as if he were a knight who was winning a war.

 

Letting out a defeated sigh she replied, “I surrender.”

 

With a quick flick of the wand, the blankets fell off of her and allowed her freedom.  The group of four laughed and talked about how Harry was fairing in the high school as they ate pizza.  Kagome was quick to report that he was terrible at archery and didn’t pay attention in school one bit.  Hermione’s jaw dropped, which of course led to a lecture about how Harry should engage himself more in class.  He was definitely not going to busy himself with Muggle studies anytime soon.  It was the first time they all truly seemed like friends.  But as they finished their meal and made themselves comfortable, Harry could feel the conversation start lean to a more serious tone.

 

Kagome took a deep breath.  He could tell she had been readying herself for this moment, trying to mentally prepare for the tale that was about to be told.  He was excited to hear her past, but she was scared that something would change between all of them once it was revealed.  Placing his hand on top of hers, he gave it a reassuring squeeze to let her know that everything would be all right.  She sent him a weak, but thankful smile in return before finally opening her mouth to begin her story.

 

“It all started on my fifteenth birthday…”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thank you for reading! Happy New Year everyone!!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the story line or characters from the Inuyasha or Harry Potter series. They belong to their owners Rumiko Takahashi and JK Rowling.

**Chapter 21**

If Snape thought that his daughter was safer in the Muggle world than being involved in his magical one, he was sorely mistaken.  The Second Wizarding War had been hell and there was no witch or wizard that would dare say otherwise.  Too many lives had been taken by the wands of Lord Voldemort and his many followers.   The Battle of Hogwarts saw the most casualties, and many students and professors lost their friends and loved ones that day, including the destruction of their beloved school.  But while the potion’s master may have believed he was protecting his daughter from harm’s way, he had in fact left her alone to face a different kind of danger. 

Harry knew that Kagome’s story would be a long one.  The only information he had managed to obtain before her lengthy tale, was the fact that she was not a witch, she associated herself with demons, and she had lost her fiancé.  But compared to the information she unleashed on the trio that night, all that other was just the tip of the iceberg.  His head was swimming with the newly acquired knowledge while his companions slept heavily on the right hand side of the living room sized bed. 

Only he and Kagome had remained awake at the end of it all.  Ron was never able to stay awake or pay attention in class, so of course he wouldn’t last hearing a story that took hours to tell.  Hermione had made it to the end, but quickly followed in her husband’s footsteps by falling asleep as soon as it was over.  Harry was no stranger to staying up late or not getting sleep thanks to his own interesting life, and while he was tired, he didn’t want to just fall asleep without talking to Kagome first. 

Harry watched as she fiddled with a blanket in her hands.  Her eyes remained cast downward, seemingly afraid to make eye contact with him.  “Well…” she mumbled. “What do you think?” 

What does he think?

He almost wanted to laugh at the simplicity of her question.  Before him sat a young woman who, much like himself, had her life completely changed on her birthday one year. The most Harry had ever travelled through time was three hours in order to save his godfather and Buckbeak back in his third year.  Kagome had managed to travel 500 years into the past, a time period completely different from her original one. 

She was almost killed on a daily basis, surrounded by demons hell bent on taking her life, and all for what?  A bauble that supposedly grants any one wish and delivered unspeakable power to its holder?  To make matters worse, she was born with this Jewel of Four Souls in her body.  But despite all the death threats, she managed to befriend most of her attackers. Not once had Harry even thought of becoming friends with any Death Eaters.  Although him and Draco were more or less at an understanding, he would never consider the platinum blonde a friend. 

And not one time did she use the jewel for herself.  After all this time she only thought of protecting it from anyone planning to use it for selfish reasons.  But there is always someone willing to go to the extremes to get power.  Just like he spent years facing off against Voldemort, she had her own villain by the name of Naraku.

This girl, that was even younger than him, had fought in numerous battles and wars.  She used real weapons and physically destroyed people, rather than using simple curses and hexes like in the Wizarding World.  Of course those curses were just as capable of inflicting harm and death.  But there was a difference between using words with personal wands versus weapons that you wield to dismember and kill bringing you face to face with the person you were fighting. 

She helped Shippou when he was just a child to avenge his father's death from other demons, after he tried to steal jewel shards from Kagome of course.  As time went on she grew to love the little kit as if he were a little brother or a child of her own, willing to do anything for the little guy.  This clarified everything for Harry on how Shippou and her were so close to one another.  She didn't speak much of Sesshoumaru, only stating that they started out as enemies because of sibling rivalry between him and Inuyasha.  But in the end they held a mutual respect for one another.  The demon lord was also one of the few that was not after the Jewel of Four Souls, and used his own acquired strength and powers to defeat his enemies. 

Her group had a common goal:  destroy Naraku.  They had formed a bond much like the Golden Trio had, and worked day and night to fight for the world they loved and lived in.  She constantly threw herself into danger, much like he would, in order to protect friends.  Her soul was forcibly split in half, to bring another person back to life.  Of course they all cringed at the point in the story, knowing the dangers of messing with the soul thanks to the Horcruxes. 

She fell in love with her best friend, that Inuyasha fellow.  A half demon that did anything in his power to try and protect her from harm’s way.  There were little snafus along the way, involving dark magic and that Kikyou woman that had part of Kagome's soul.  But for the most part, it seemed they were completely happy with the way things were, their group acting as a little family. 

It was less than a year ago for her that she fought in her final battle against Naraku.  They fought for hours, slaughtering countless numbers of weaker demons before facing off against the head villain himself.  Kagome, Inuyasha, and Naraku found themselves trapped inside the Jewel itself.  At this point Ron was beyond confused, not understanding how people could get stuck inside a marble.  However, he was promptly told to be ignored by his wife who went on to state, "For goodness sake Ronald, you're a wizard." 

Inuyasha was killed while stuck in the darkness of the jewel, ambushed by Naraku as soon as they were trapped.  Kagome explained that out of emotional rage, her powers simply erupted, purifying Naraku to death, as well as purifying the jewel as a whole.  When she was released from the jewel, she was unconscious, by the time she woke up she was in the well house back in her own time, with no way to get back.  Technically she had returned home, but the world she experienced and grew to love was completely ripped away from her. 

“Well?”  She asked anxiously, snapping him away from his thoughts.  At this point she was looking at him with her big blue eyes awaiting an answer. 

What did he think…?

“Sorry, I would have had to see it to believe it,” he responded back to her jokingly, mocking her for the same words she used against him the previous day. 

Kagome let out a soft groan, trying not to wake anyone else up and playfully punched him in the arm.  Apparently she didn’t appreciate having her own words thrown back at her.  “Seriously!”  She exclaimed.  “I really want to know!” 

“Honestly,” he started as he lay down on their giant bed for the evening and closed his eyes.  “I think you’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.  Living as a wizard and going to a magical school, I really just thought all muggles lived dull and boring lives, but then you come along and completely blow away that notion from my mind.  You’ve experienced so much pain and suffering, yet you’re so great to everyone you meet.  I’m certain that everyone at Hogwarts would love you… and your father would have been extremely impressed by you.”

When he didn’t hear her say anything, he slowly opened his eyes to get a peek at her.  She hadn’t moved an inch, but her face was deep red in embarrassment.  The moment she noticed him looking at her though, her face reddened even more.  Mumbling a soft thank you, she quickly averted her gaze away from  him. 

Harry rolled his eyes at her embarrassed antics and propped himself up with his right elbow.  “Come here,” he said as he extended his left hand towards her.  She looked at him quizzically before placing her own small hand in his.  Swiftly, he pulled her towards his chest, letting go of her hand and instead snaked his arm around her waist, causing them both to fall back against the bed with her lying gently on top of him.  “Time to go to bed, I know you’re emotionally exhausted.” 

“I’m not a child!”  She proclaimed softly while trying to sit up.   

But being stronger than her, she was unable to escape his grasp.  “Then quit acting like one and go to bed.  Besides, we have a group date in the morning.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me!”  She exclaimed admitting defeat and burying her face into his chest.  Her body was warm, but he Harry didn’t really mind the close contact.  In fact, he rather enjoyed being close to her a lot.  But now was no time to be giving into any sort of sexual desires. 

Kagome’s breathing became heavy as she fell asleep instantly on top of him.  It was amazing how fast she was able to pass out now that she had other people around.  After hearing her story, it made sense to him knowing that from years of travelling as a pack had changed her sleeping habits.  Turns out being able to feel the auras of family and friends nearby soothes her. 

It wasn’t much longer that Harry too fell victim to needing sleep and was passed out holding Snape’s daughter in his arms.  While he had been a student of the greasy haired git, if anyone would have told him that one day he would be sleeping in the same bed as the potion master’s daughter, he would have thought they’d gone mental.  It’s crazy how life could change so quickly.  
  


Unfortunately for the group of friends, they weren’t able to enjoy sleeping in that particular weekend morning.  The sound of the fireplace suddenly roaring to life with green flames quickly awakened the Golden Trio, and they instinctively grabbed their wands ready to attack whoever dared to come to their safe house.  Kagome somehow managed to ignore the noise, and merely repositioned herself to lay in Harry’s lap as he sat up, forcing her off of his chest.  The Floo Powder smoke dispersed and they were surprised to see Ginny Weasley standing in front of the hearth.  Her bright brown eyes stared down at him with a frown on her face.   

“Ginny,” Hermione started as she lowered her wand quickly stood up.  “What on Earth are you doing here?”

“I had been busy lately and finally saw the Daily Prophet from earlier this week about Rodolphus Lestrange.  I came to check on you guys… and to talk to Harry.”  The red-headed girl responded, her gaze never leaving his form.  She glanced at the girl slumbering heavily in his lap and immediately furrowed her brow in anger.  “What the hell is going on here?”

  
Harry felt his stomach drop and mentally cursed.  After only a couple hours of sleep, he wasn’t ready to face his fiery ex-fiance.  But as she folded her arms across her chest, her glare only intensified as no one knew exactly how to respond.  


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 

Harry nervously ran his fingers through his hair.  It was too early for tensions to be running this high.  His safe house wasn’t doing much protecting for him in regards to his fiery ex-fiancée.  Ginny’s glare only intensified each time she laid her eyes on the sleeping girl in his lap.  If she had arrived a week ago, or anytime before the mission in Japan he would swept her back into his arms in a heartbeat.  He would have been eager to do anything to get her back in his life.

 

But now…

 

Now he had to focus on his current mission.  It wasn’t his fault that his mission happened to involve an extremely attractive girl that was currently sleeping on his lap.  However, he needed to do what he could for Kagome as a thank you for everything her father had done for him in his life.  It’s amazing how fast things can change in such a short period of time.  

 

“What’s going on here?”  The redheaded teenage girl asked gesturing toward Kagome’s peaceful form.  Harry could practically feel her discontent rolling off of her in waves as she crossed her arms again.  

 

“Well we _were_ sleeping,” Ron started with a yawn, “Until you bloody showed up.”

 

“Oh _sleeping_?!”  Ginny’s voice rose as she spoke.  “All of you cuddled up with one another, and my ex-fiancé has some call girl in his lap?  What madness have I walked into?”

 

“Ginny,” Hermione stood up slowly, wobbling a bit due to her girth of a stomach.  “You shouldn’t be here.  You don’t understand at all what we’re dealing with.”  After hearing Kagome’s story from last night, she knew that their mission was no laughing matter and Hermione wasn’t prepared to let anyone she loved get involved.

 

She snorted at her sister-in-law’s response.  “Oh I think I understand enough.”  Reaching into her back pocket, Ginny quickly drew her wand and aimed it at the unsuspecting Kagome.  “I’m sure the water-making spell will wake her up.   _Aguamenti_!”

 

But just as fast as the Weasley girl had cast the spell, Hermione was already standing in front of Harry and Kagome causing her to get hit with the jet of water.  Ginny stood stunned as Hermione tried to wipe her face off with her sleeve.  “You can’t use magic on a muggle!  It’s not right.  And I certainly won’t have you doing anything to disturb her.”

 

“A muggle…”  Ginny mumbled.  “What are Ministry Aurors doing protecting a muggle?  And what makes _her_ so damn important?”

 

“You know that’s classified information Ginny,” Harry called out from behind Hermione.  “I’m sorry but we can’t let you in on this knowledge.  It’s too dangerous.”

 

“Classified!  Dangerous!”  Ginny was shouting at all three of them.  “I was a part of the Second Wizarding War too, you know.  I was right there with you, _all_ of you, fighting Death Eaters and dark wizards alike.  Defending the people and school I loved.  I have a right-”

 

But Ginny was interrupted when a pillow came soaring towards her, hitting her square in the face.  “Shut up, you noisy brat,” Kagome growled out.  The priestess hadn’t even bothered to open her eyes and quickly resumed her sleeping position, curled against Harry’s lap.

 

Ron tried very hard to stifle his laughter as he watched his sister get angrier.  Even Hermione was trying hard to suppress a smile but was failing miserably as she moved out of the way.  “What did she say to me?!”  She all but screamed out in anger and confusion.  They had forgotten that the poor Weasley girl did not have one of the special translator necklaces Hermione had bestowed upon them.  

 

But this only caused Kagome to growl once again before standing up and glaring at Ginny in return.  “Oh I’m sorry, let me resort to _your_ language for you,” she said snidely in accented English.  “I said to shut up you noisy brat.  It is seven in the morning and it is the weekend.  I already have a hard enough time sleeping without having an annoying girl like you come in and disturbing the peace.”

 

Ginny’s face was red with frustration and embarrassment as Kagome wrapped up her ranting.  The two females merely stood staring at one another angrily.  Without breaking eye contact, Kagome reached her hand down and helped Harry up from his sitting position, only making the young Weasley girl even more upset.  Impulsively she flicked her wand once more calling out, “ _Stupefy!_ ”

 

The spell hit Kagome in the chest causing her to falter backwards.  Harry placed his left hand at the small of her back, steadying her quickly while his right hand gripped hers.  Unconsciously she brought her free hand to the exact spot the spell hit, wide-eyed with disbelief.  “Are you alright?”  He asked her softly, in Japanese thanks to the translator necklace.  

 

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, a small blush creeping on her face as her eyes met his.  “I think I’m going to take a shower and get ready for the meeting later.”

 

He sent her a gentle smile as she sent him one last glance before walking off towards the bathroom.  At the sound of the door clicking shut, he turned a stern gaze to his ex-fiancée.  Ginny was still busy staring in the direction that Kagome went, most likely in shock over the fact that her spell did not work on the girl.  “Ginny,” he said harshly, causing her to look down in shame.  “You deliberately tried to cast a spell on a muggle not once, but twice, and in front of Aurors.  You’ve also technically invaded a “safe house” as well.”

 

“Can’t be too safe if Ron had it connected with the Floo Network…” she mumbled under her breath, just audible enough for them to hear.

 

Both Harry and Hermione immediately turned expectantly to the third member of their group.  “I did not!”  Ron responded defensively.  “I merely visited the newly renovated Burrow a couple of times.  You know mum would kill me if I didn’t keep her updated about us and her future grandchild!”

 

“Merlin, Ron!  When on Earth did you have the time to do that?”  His wife’s voice was shrill, and the entire room cringed.  

 

“Well, there’s plenty of time while Harry and Kagome are gone during the day, and you’re resting,” he responded honestly.  “I’m just trying to keep everyone happy.”

 

Ron was definitely not the smartest person in the world.  Hell, he probably wouldn’t even rank in the top fifty percent of seventh years at Hogwarts if he had bothered to actually go back and take the final examinations.  But what he lacked in intelligence, he made up for with loyalty and compassion.  The safety and happiness of his friends and family would always be his top priority.  Besides, Hermione was smart enough for the lot of them anyway.

 

Harry merely sighed as Hermione continued to scold her husband.  “So,” Ginny started, earning his attention once more.  “You and that girl spend everyday together?”

 

Groaning, he pinched the bridge of his nose.  He was certain a migraine was forming and wished that he was still laying comfortably on the giant bed that still adorned their living room.  He really didn’t want to be dealing with all of this nonsense.  “Why are you here?”

 

“I told you,” she drawled out as she slowly made her way towards him.  “I came to talk to you.  I saw the Daily Prophet about Lestrange…”

 

“And?”  He questioned when she failed to continue.  Harry really had no desire to play guessing games all morning, nor did he really feel like coaxing any information out of her with what little sleep he received the night before.

 

“And…” she bit her lip, struggling to actually admit anything to him.  Losing the internal struggle she was having with herself, she let out a groan.  “You were right, okay?  Clearly there are still threats that need to be dealt with.”

 

She took a step closer to him, but he held up a hand to stop her.  “It’s not like I wanted to be right, you know.  You think I took pride in knowing that there were still dangerous individuals out there that had the potential to hurt my friends and loved ones?”  He sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair.  “I have someone I need to protect now.  She doesn’t know a thing about the wizarding world, but she is being targeted.”

 

Ginny dropped her head and turned her attention to her feet.  It was barely audible, but he heard her whisper, “Why can’t I be the one you protect?”

 

Harry stepped forward and used his right hand to tentatively lift her chin up.  “You don’t need protecting Ginny.  You’re a strong independent woman, who is wicked with a wand.  But Kagome needs our help, and she doesn’t have a wand.”

 

“But why can’t I help?  Because I don’t work for the Ministry?”  She clasped his hand with both of hers.  “I made a mistake Harry.  I’m sorry.  Please…”

 

He knew everything that was implied with her plead.  Even Ron and Hermione were awkwardly listening from the kitchen while magically preparing breakfast, anticipating the outcome.  “Ginny…” He didn’t like doing this.  Not even a little bit.  “I need to focus on protecting Kagome… and she’s the only one I need to be worrying about right now.”

 

Pursing her lips together she immediately started nodding her head.  Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she turned her back towards him.  Slowly she approached the fireplace.  Taking a handful of Floo Powder from the top mantle, and gripped it at her side.  “My biggest regret was not trusting you like I should have.  But I will trust that you will make it through this all right.  Let me know when you’re mission is over.”

 

Without another word, she tossed the powder into the suddenly lit fire and called out, “The Burrow.”  She never turned around and merely disappeared as the green flames enveloped her.  But instead of feeling bad, Harry somehow felt a bit relieved, like a major weight had been taken off of his shoulders for now.  

 

He was taken from his thoughts when the bathroom door swung open.  Turning around he saw steam pour into the hallway, and the top of Kagome’s head peaked out.  Only noticing Harry in the living room, she stepped out into the hallway merely draped in her towel.  Her wet hair clung to the bare skin that remained visible.  “Is the firecracker gone?”  She was nonchalant when asking her question, but scanned the room nonetheless.  Harry only had the composure to nod at her as she walked toward her room to get dressed.  

  
Honestly, he secretly hoped the mission never ended.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 

Harry squinted up at the sky in annoyance as the sun blared down.  It was so hot outside.  The young man couldn’t help but actually miss the dreary weather of England.  Although it certainly was good to be out of the Furinkan High School uniform.  Hermione was nice enough to provide him with the casual clothes he donned today: jeans, a white tank top and a red plaid button down short sleeve shirt over top that he chose to leave open.  He hated buttons.

 

“You’ll go blind if you look directly at the sun like that,” Kagome mused aloud, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.  He didn’t mind diverting his attention to her, especially in her own casual clothes.  Her hair was pulled back into a half ponytail while she wore a spaghetti strap emerald green dress that stopped mid-thigh.  She also brought along a thing dark grey dress to cover her shoulders should she get cold.  

 

The two were standing side by side outside of the nearest train station waiting for Hojo, Ayumi, Yuka and Eri to join them.  They decided to arrive early instead of being seen walking there together, which would surely cause rumors to circulate.  Harry knew that the three girl friends of Kagome’s liked to talk, a lot.  

 

He was kind of looking forward to spending time outside of the safe house and outside of the school.  Of course his wand rested in his pocket for safe measures, should he need it.  Honestly, Harry wouldn’t have been opposed to taking her and running around taking down Death Eaters one by one like he and his companions had down his seventh year with the Deathly Hallows.  But he knew that was an argument he would lose against Kagome.  She wasn’t ready to be uprooted from anywhere.  However, if push came to shove (and perhaps with a little help from Shippou) he could make her come.

 

 _I wonder if Side-Along Apparition would work on her_ , he pondered to himself silently as she rocked nervously back and forth on her heels.  The grip on the jacket she held in her hands was unusually tight and it caused him to quirk a brow at her.  Playfully leaning in and nudging her with his shoulder he asked, “What’s wrong?”

 

She sent him a weak smile in return.  “That obvious huh?  Well,” she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.  “This is going to sound so silly but, I haven’t actually hung out with anyone in a really long time.  At least, not in this era…”

 

“Ouch, love.  What am I, a bag of potatoes?”  Harry feigned being hurt while placing hand dramatically over his heart as if in pain.  

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and immediately nudged him back.  “You know what I mean.  It’s easy with you, being used to an unusual lifestyle.  But with everyone else who’s... _normal_ ,” she started while scrunching her nose at the word as if it was just awful to even utter.  “It’s so difficult.  No one else here understands or gets it.  The only thing that kept me sane was interacting with Shippou and continuing my archery lessons at the shrine.”

 

“Trust me, attending a muggle high school was not on my to-do list after getting accepted as an auror for the Ministry,” he responded, knowing that she didn’t know what an auror was or what all was meant when he uttered the term Ministry.  

 

“You know, I think it’s only fair that since you’ve heard my past that I should get to hear yours.”  She loosened her grip on her jacket and instead opted for putting it on in the meantime.  “I want to know about my father and about the school you went to and…”  She suddenly moved quickly to stand in front of him.  She was very close, and standing on her tiptoes she used her right hand to push up his bangs, revealing the infamous lightning bolt on his forehead.  “I want to know where you got this scar.”

 

He felt his face heat up at her closeness and at her close observations.  It had been difficult, but Harry thought he had done a pretty good job at hiding his scar from everyone as to avoid any awkward questions.  But of course she had noticed.  Kagome noticed everything.  Encompassing her hand with his own, he brought it away from his scar and held it at their side.  He leaned in even closer, going past her face and next to her ear.  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he murmured softly.  “After our little date.”

 

The clock outside of the station suddenly struck twelve, alerting everyone in the vicinity of the time and causing the two to jump away from one another startled.  She cutely placed her hands over her chest as if to still her heart not daring to make eye contact with him again.  They didn’t have to wait much longer before the others arrived.  First was Hojo who seemed surprised to see them waiting there already, followed by Eri, Yuka and Ayumi.

 

“Sorry we’re a little late!  We wanted to make sure we looked good today,” Eri said with wink.  

 

“Where should we take Harry-kun first?  How much of the area have you seen?”  Ayumi inquired.

 

“I haven’t really seen anything but the school and the Sunset Shrine,” he responded, glancing at Kagome.  “Other than that I’ve been holed up in my house.”

 

“Speaking of which,” Hojo interjected.  “I came to visit the shrine Higurashi-san, and it was roped off saying it was closed for renovations.  But it didn’t look like anyone was home.  Are you and your family alright?”

 

“Oh we’re fine.  Just staying in an apartment in the meantime until renovations are done.  We’re all doing just fine, thank you.”  Kagome quickly answered, already seemingly annoyed with Hojo’s concern.  

 

“So then,” Harry tried to change the subject.  The last thing they needed was anyone trying to figure out where she was actually living.  “What magnificent place are you going to wow me with?”

 

“Ikebukuro is always an interesting place to go,” Hojo supplied.  

 

“No way!”  Eri exclaimed.  “With all those different gangs I keep hearing about like the Dollars and the Yellow Scarves?  I do not want to run into any of them!  I plan on living today, thank you.”

 

Kagome seemed amused by the banter between her friends as they tried to decide where to travel.  Especially when it came to any life threatening adventures.  Harry was certain that if she could have her choice they would venture into an area where the odds of something interesting happening is higher.  

 

“I vote we go to Shibuya and do some shopping and karaoke!  Maybe see a movie or something afterwards,” Yuka chimed in.  

 

The rest of the group seemed satisfied with this, and Harry was more than happy to go with the flow for everything.  After all, they’re the ones wanting to show him around.  Following behind the rest of the group they all got their tickets for the metro and quickly boarded.  

 

Harry was very glad that he didn’t have to take metros before now in his life.  This particular one was extremely crowded.  He much rather preferred the long Hogwarts Express rides with the separate compartments and food trolleys over this anyday.  Luckily for him he was right next to the door so he could quickly get off at Shibuya station.  

 

Kagome was rather close by and looked extremely uncomfortable where she stood as they quickly pulled away from the platform.  There were quite a bit of people shoved up against her and a sudden look of distress on her face had him on alert.  An older gentleman had the nerve to start rubbing up against her backside sexually, and the poor girl was stuck surrounded by other passengers that didn’t seem to notice her discomfort.  She was so compact in her spot she couldn’t even turn to confront the bastard herself.  

 

Harry immediately shoved his way towards her and grabbed the front shirt of the balding man that dared to touch Kagome inappropriately.  Leaning in he whispered to the now frightened piece of scum, “If you _ever_ touch her again, I will personally make sure you disappear from the world without anyone taking notice.”

 

Without even bothering to spare the bottom feeder a second look, Harry grabbed Kagome’s hand and pulled her closer to him as well as the metro exit.  She was flush with anger and embarrassment as she balled her hands into fists at her side.  “Do I look that weak?  Do I come across as that helpless, that people get to objectify me and do whatever they want to me?”  Her voice was low as she seethed in frustration.  But he had managed to hear every word.

 

“Stop uttering nonsense,” Harry started.  Taking one hand he gently tucked a few loose wisps of hair behind her ear.  “The only thing you’re at fault for is being gorgeous.”  He sent her a boyish grin in which she responded with a playful punch to the chest.

 

“Shut up, you corn ball.  I don’t need you coming to my rescue all the time.”  Although it was hard to take her seriously with the smile she was trying to hold back on her face.  

 

He rolled his eyes at her.  “It’s literally my job.  Literally.  My.  Job.”

 

Kagome scoffed and turned away from him.  “I didn’t hire you.”

 

An automatic voice came over the intercom announcing the metro’s arrival to Shibuya station.  Many of the passengers started to make their way towards the exit in anticipation, pushing both Harry and Kagome closer to the door.  When the train came suddenly started screeching to a stop, it caught the poor priestess off guard making her stumble backwards into the-boy-who-lived’s chest and arms.  

 

“I guess it’s a good thing you can’t fire me then either,” Harry retaliated, which only caused her to scrunch up her nose and stick out her tongue at him.  He gently helped her forward as the doors finally opened.  Dozens of people poured off of the train as just as many pushed their way on.  The familiar faces of their friends quickly came into view as they waited at the platform exit.

 

“I forgot how busy Shibuya actually gets,” Ayumi exclaimed over all the noise.  “Let’s get out of the station and find something to eat!”

 

“There’s a really great cafe near by we can go to,” Hojo reported.  “It should just be a block away from here and it’s normally not too crowded.”

 

“Sounds great, I’m famished.”  Harry could feel his stomach grumbling.  Breakfast had been brief and consisted of some very basic toast after Ginny’s sudden arrival.  

 

He followed behind the rest of the group as they travelled out of the station platform and up onto the streets.  Shibuya was an entirely different place than the part of Tokyo.  Advertisements and signs littered the streets and buildings.  People were dressed in all kinds of crazy outfits, almost like everyone was getting ready for a runway show.  But Harry seemed to be the only one fascinated by all this.  

 

For once, he wasn’t the center of attention in a crowd.  Of course that would be typical in the muggle community, but it still felt wonderful to be able to walk around without being stared at or pointed at.  No whispers and doubtful glances.  No fascinating looks of awe.  No constant questions and useless conversations.  Just walking around a city with friends (if he could call them that yet), protecting the very lovely daughter of Severus Snape, and not worrying about collecting horcruxes, fighting death eaters or dark lords.

 

Hell, there wasn’t even another member of the wizarding world in sight.  

 

Although without his glasses and with his hair covering his scar, it was doubtful anyone would recognize him at first glance anyway.  He was so happy he practically felt like skipping to the cafe.  

 

“I didn’t realize you were that excited to eat,” Hojo mused.  Harry hadn’t noticed his classmate had slowed down to walk by his side while the girls remained at the front of the pack.

 

“More excited about being with you lot and seeing the city honestly.”  Harry was almost considering today to be like a day off.  Which was rare for an auror to take advantage of, especially while on a mission.  

 

“Since we’re being honest with each other, I was actually hoping today Higurashi-san and I could go on a date,” Hojo said without even looking at Harry.  “I wasn’t too thrilled when you suggested a group outing but I suppose this is a step in the right direction since she used to not do anything with anyone while she was sick.  I actually think she would have turned me down if I pushed it to just be me and her.”

 

Harry looked at him quizzically.  “Why are you telling me all of this?”

 

“I’m not really sure myself,” the teenager started.  “I guess I’m just hoping for your support, especially since you guys seem to have become friends rather quickly.”

 

Forced was a better description, since they were ‘being honest with one another’.  He wasn’t sure how to take the other teens words.  They felt more like a warning than just a passing of information or plea for support.  Harry didn’t know how to respond so he simply chose not to while they walked into the decent sized cafe.  It wasn’t too crowded so they were quickly seated.  Eri and Yuka sat on one side, while Ayumi, Hojo and Harry sat on the other.  Kagome excused herself to the restroom.

 

“So is this your first time out since you’ve been here, Harry-san?”  Eri asked excitedly.  

 

“It is.  And I’m very interested in seeing as much as possible today,” he cheerfully responded… anything to avoid more awkwardness with the bloke sitting next to him too.  

 

They all sat together idly chit chatting when the waitress came to take their order.  Choosing a sample platter of pastries and desserts while ordering a round of hot tea.  Harry took a chance and ordered a hot tea for their missing friend as well.  When the beverages came before Kagome’s arrival, Harry started to get a bit worried.

 

Yuka suddenly leaned out of the booth towards the direction of the rest rooms.  “I wonder who Kagome is talking to over there…  Seems like someone she knows, but I don’t think I recognize him.”  The rest of the group slowly peered out of the booth to look in the same direction as Yuka.  But no one at the table recognized the person that Kagome was casually chatting with cordially… except for Harry.

  
Harry Potter instantly recognized the person chatting with Kagome and he quickly stood up to intervene.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 

There really was no good way to describe their relationship.  The whole history between the two of them was… interesting.  If that was the best word to be used to describe it.  For years it had been nothing but absolute hatred.  From the moment the wizarding pureblood had extended his own friendship towards him (after insulting poor Ronald Weasley), the elite was nothing but trouble.  

 

For almost seven years Harry despised the Slytherin.  The torment, the fights, and duels the two of them experienced were forever etched into his mind.  They had continuously provoked one another with their petty rivalry and escalated higher and higher every year.  Hell, Harry was surprised that he didn’t have any other facial scars from when the git had attacked him on the Hogwarts Express.  

 

But the truth of the matter was, the boy had been living in his father’s shadow his entire life.  The elite patriarch had made a decision to follow the Dark Lord Voldemort and joined the havoc wreaking squadron of Death Eaters.  The rest of the family was expected to follow suit, given no choice in the matter, which they initially did without a second thought.  After all, they wanted to preserve the sanctity of the magical pureblood lines and dominate over muggles. There was no good and evil, only the desire for power.  But as missions got darker and lives put on the line, mother and son began to falter.

 

That’s why Harry Potter felt a flood of emotions overcome him as he looked at the familiar form of Draco Malfoy.  Hatred.  Revulsion.  Pity.  Understanding.  A variety of restless sentiment stirred within him, and he couldn't settle on how to approach his former peer.

 

The Malfoy heir sat coolly with a cup of tea in his hand.  He looked almost exactly the same as the last time Harry saw him.  His platinum blonde hair remained slicked back and well trimmed, but he remained pale and far too thin from stress.  It was strange seeing him without the Hogwarts uniform or wizarding robes and instead dressed in jeans.  A long sleeve shirt was used to no doubt cover the haunting tattoo on his arm.  Overall he looked... exhausted.

 

It was unsettling to watch Kagome chat amiably with Draco.  She interacted with him as if he were a regular friend that she was eager to catch up with.  Since when did he hang around muggles so freely?  Better yet, what in the world was he doing in Japan?  Perhaps he was still involved with the Death Eaters and their movement to restore Voldemort again.  

 

It couldn’t be coincidence… could it?

 

Harry quickly approached Kagome without sparing her a look.  His eyes remained on his former foe at all times, hands itching to grab the wand that was secretly tucked away in the inside pocket of his shirt.  It never hurts to be too careful after all.  

 

“Sorry I was taking so long, Harry,” Kagome addressed him.  “I was talking to a recent friend I’d made.  I’d like for you to meet-”

 

“Malfoy.”  Harry interrupted by addressing the boy himself.  Surprised grey eyes looked into emerald ones as the two stared each other down.  Both of them never dreamed of running into each other so soon.  

 

“Potter.”  Draco responded before casually sipping his own tea.  The usual hint of contempt didn’t come out when he spoke.  It was simply spoken in acknowledgment.  

 

Kagome glanced between the two of them rather confused.  “You boys know each other?”

 

Pausing for a moment, Draco finally responded, “Yes, we were school mates for quite a while.”

 

“The best of mates,” Harry retorted sarcastically.  What an interesting choice of words for the snake to use.  “Especially if you count that one time you stomped on my face.”

 

“Or that time you almost killed me our sixth year,” Draco countered.

 

“If I recall I saved your sorry arse a couple of times while you and your cohorts tried to take over the school and kill me,” Harry disputed.  

 

Draco snorted and turned his attention back towards his original company.  “Yes, Kagome we know each other.  Who doesn’t know the infamous Harry Potter?”

 

“Infamous?”  She repeated, turning her attention towards the boy-who-lived.  “I didn’t know you were well-known from where you came from.  I just assumed that Sess and Ship knew who you were because you were trying to find me.”

 

Harry clicked his tongue in annoyance.  He hadn’t gotten around to telling Kagome about Hogwarts or anything of the wizarding world.  “I think the real question is, how do you know Malfoy,” Harry tried to change the subject.

 

“Draco and I met at the shrine a couple of months ago.  Even showed up for a couple of my archery lessons,” she said with a smile.  Harry on the other hand didn’t like the sounds of it one bit.  Especially since she failed to use any honorifics with his name.  “But I didn’t know he was a wizard.”

 

“And I didn’t know you were a witch,” Draco offered an assumption based on association with Harry no doubt.  

 

“Oh, I’m not a witch,” she corrected pleasantly.  Harry wasn’t sure if offering that information up to the former Death Eater was a good thing or not.  “Harry said my dad was a brilliant wizard though.  Saved his life a few times or something like that.”

 

“Did he now?”  Draco leaned forward in his seat more interested in the conversation.  He was examining her, taking in every physical feature she had and trying to find any clue or hint as to who her father might be.  

 

Harry quickly wrapped his arm around Kagome’s head and circling around it covered her mouth with his hand.  He needed to make sure that she didn’t reveal information to Draco until the boy could be trusted.  “I think that’s enough catching up for one day.  You don’t need to make friends with the wrong sort,” he mumbled to her.

 

Kagome furrowed her brows in frustration and glared at Harry.  Quickly, she peeled his hand away from her mouth and tore away from him.  “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks.”

 

Draco suddenly burst into a fit of laughter and stood up.  “Beautifully said, my dear.  I think Potter will painstakingly recognize those words.”

 

“But not regretfully,” Harry snapped.  “Our friendship would have made it that much easier for you death eaters to kill me.”  

 

“Death Eaters…” Kagome muttered.  “Wasn’t that Lestrange guy who abracadabra’d me last week one of those?”

 

Draco looked quizzically between the two.  “Why on earth was Lestrange trying after a random muggle?”  He paused for a moment before deciding answering his own question.  “I suppose for the same reason a Ministry Auror is protecting one…?”

 

Harry wanted to scream in frustration.  He was ready to head back to their own table where their classmates were waiting patiently, no doubt trying to eavesdrop on the conversation.  Keeping Kagome safe was his number one priority, but could they go through one day without any craziness or drama?  

 

Of course Miss Higurashi had an agenda of her own.

 

Kagome quickly grabbed Draco’s left hand with hers, and used her right hand to push up his sleeve.  It revealed the faded Dark Mark that was permanently imprinted on his forearm.  The relief came when it wasn’t jet black indicating its active status.  But it would forever remain etched into his skin as a constant reminder of his dark past.

 

He quickly tore out of her grasp and turned away in shame.  Kagome however, wasn’t taking no for an answer.  She quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the back corner to an isolated booth, leaving Harry to quickly follow after.  Harry couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of their companions thought they had been ditched…

 

Once again, she pulled up his left sleeve and examined his unwanted brandish.  “I’ve been curious about this since the first time we met…” she mumbled to herself and delicately traced the design with the tip of her fingers.  “It’s faint, but I can feel the darkness radiating off of this thing…”

 

Draco looked between the crazy muggle girl and Harry confused, unsure of what exactly was happening.  She hummed to herself while continuing to inspect his arm.  Harry himself wasn’t too thrilled at the seemingly intimate contact she was giving him, but chose not be yelled at by trying to pull her away again.  Instead, he sat quietly across from the two in the booth with his arms crossed.

 

Suddenly, she stopped and gazed up at Draco excitedly.  “What’s this for exactly?”

 

“I don’t particularly care to talk about it, thank you,” the blonde responded softly.  “I wish I didn’t have it at all.”

 

Her eyes lit up at his answer and she immediately turned her attention to Harry.  “Well, wizard protector, I assume you have your stick with you?”  He nodded, now curious as to what she had up her sleeve.  “If you have a spell that will temporarily silence someone, now would be the time to use it.”

 

The Gryffindor boy grinned from ear to ear as he slid his wand from the inside pocket of his shirt.  Before his former rival could protest, Harry jabbed his wand toward him saying very clearly, “ _Silencio!_ ”  The Auror felt a wave of satisfaction at Draco’s annoyed face.  “Why exactly did I get the pleasure of doing that?”

 

Kagome sent Draco a weak smile before stating, “This is going to hurt a little bit.”  Bracing the bottom of his arm with her left hand, she placed her right hand over the skull of the mark.  She closed her eyes to concentrate and a white light could be seen dimly between her hand and his arm.  

 

Draco’s face contorted to that of absolute pain.  Gritting his teeth, he gripped the upper part of his left arm with his right hand and digging his fingers into his skin.  But no sound came out.  Harry couldn’t help but stare at the sight before him.  Seeing Kagome use the unique magical abilities up close (and not on his own injuries for once) was extraordinary.  

 

She was beginning to tire, it was evident by the way her shoulders started to slump.  Harry wasn’t sure how long the entire process took, it probably only took a few moments.  But Kagome looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept in days.  Finally, her priestess powers started to flicker out and she collapsed against the wall in the booth.

 

Draco was panting, tears from the pain threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes.  The skin of his forearm was red and raw.  But it bore no Dark Mark.  Both boys stared at his arm in disbelief, and for the first time, Harry saw Draco smile.  It wasn’t a smirk or a smug grin.  It was the first time the Malfoy had ever seemed genuinely happy about something.  

 

This was a monumental achievement.  No one had ever been able to get rid of the Lord Voldemort’s mark before.  It was extremely dark and powerful magic that was supposed to be permanently embedded in its bearer’s arm forever.  This girl, who has not had any formal training for her powers and was technically classified as a muggle, had completely erased its existence from Draco’s arm.

 

For once, Harry felt like smiling along with him and beamed at the girl who was slumped against the wall in a peaceful slumber.  Everyday he was able to learn something new about her, and it seemed she never ceased to amaze him.  Even Draco was staring at her awestruck and baffled before turning his attention toward Harry.  Opening his mouth in an attempt to test whether his voice had returned yet or not, Draco was pleasantly surprised to find that it had.  “How is she _not_ a witch?” he asked bewildered.  

 

Harry shrugged, because honestly, he wasn’t even sure how she wasn’t a witch.  Sure she had her own magical abilities, but Snape was such a powerful wizard… one would think the Half Blood Prince would produce an heir with the potential to be just as strong a wizard.  While she wasn’t a witch, she certainly was a powerful priestess.  

 

“No matter,” Draco slowly stood up, eyes still transfixed on the sleeping beauty.  “The Malfoys came to Japan to get away from elaborate plots involving any sort of world domination, whether it be muggle or wizarding.  We’ve been trying to lie low for a bit from both Death Eaters and the Ministry.”  He suddenly paused and took a deep breath before looking at Harry.  “Every time I looked at the Dark Mark, I was reminded of every awful thing I had been involved with while being a Death Eater.  Dumbledore’s death, the Dark Lord’s return, invading Hogwarts… so many people lost their lives because of wizards bearing that stupid mark.  Even your parents…”

 

He closed his eyes and looked away in disgust at himself.  Harry actually felt… sorry for him.  Of course Draco had never had a choice in whether or not he could be a Death Eater.  His choices had most likely been either join or face death himself.  However, his father never even left him with a choice.  But this was not the time to get sympathetic.  

 

Harry stood up from the booth.  “I don’t hate you,” he said while bypassing Draco.  He reached forward and grabbed Kagome’s hand to pull her toward him.  She reluctantly let him extract her from the corner where she was comfortable.  “I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”  Taking her arm, he pulled it around his shoulders while he slipped his own around her waist.  She needed to get some rest and he was hoping that the rest of their group wouldn’t mind catching the longest movie that could be playing in theatres at this time.  

 

“Harry,” Kagome wearily glanced up at him.  “Draco’s not bad.  I just purified the only evil on him.”

 

“You know your father actually prevented Draco from committing what would have no doubt been the biggest mistake of his life,” Harry added while looking at said boy.  Malfoy turned his attention to his former rival, interest piqued by his words.  “I’m positive he is thankful for everything you and your father have done for him and will do what he can to ensure your safety from the other Death Eaters.”

 

“I thought that was you,” Kagome replied jokingly.  “Looks like more people owe my dad than I thought.”

 

“You have no idea,” Harry murmured, glancing at Draco Malfoy one last time.  It seemed as though the Slytherin was piecing everything together in his mind, and stared incredulously at the small Asian girl before him.  Harry simply tightened his grip on her and made his way back to their classmates, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.

 

Harry only hoped he wouldn’t come to regret sharing so much information.


End file.
